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EVE'S GLOSSARY 
The Guide-book of a Mondaine 




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EVE'S 
GLOSSARY 




By the 
Marquise 
de 
Fontenoy 




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HERBERT S STONE ff GO 

CHICAGO NEW YORK 



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COPYRIGHT 1897 BY 
HERBERT S. STONE & CO. 



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CONTENTS 



Chapter Page 

Introduction I 

I The Dressing-room and Baths .... 8 

II Complexion and Perfumes 20, 

III Cosmetics 38 

IV A Few Hints on Hygiene 57 

V The Hand and the Foot ...... 80 

VI The Hair, Eyebrows, and Eyelashes . 97 

VII The Mouth and the Teeth no 

VIII A Few Hints on Corpulence 131 

IX Les Dessous 146 

X Accessories of the Toilette 164 

XI A Beautiful Woman's Home 175 

XII Pleasures of the Table 194 

XIII Servants 210 

XIV Etiquette for Young and Old . . . . 232 
XV Tact and Chic 278 




EVE'S GLOSSARY 



INTRODUCTION 



WHY should women ever cease to be attractive ? 
There is absolutely no reason, save neglect 
and carelessness. Beauty and youth consist of a fine 
skin, good features, abundant tresses, long eyelashes, 
delicately pencilled eyebrows, red lips, white teeth, a 
fine figure, and small hands and feet. Well, all of these 
can be preserved, or, if lacking, may even be acquired to 
a certain degree with comparatively little trouble. 

Bulwer has said somewhere that no one preserves 
imagination after forty ; and it seems to be the general 
belief that at this age, also, women should give up the 
idea of being admired for their looks. This is a griev- 
ous error, and Madame de Sevigne was quite right 
when she asserted that a woman has only attained the 
fulness of her charms when she reaches her thirtieth 
year. As a rule, we feel convinced that advancing age 
casts an unpoetic shadow on our life, that the glorious 
kingdom of youth over which we once reigned must 
needs become in time a sad, pale-gray shore where we 



GL 




shall find nothing but disappointment and disenchant- 
ment. We try to face this dread emergency with 
(courage, but often fail to conceal our bitterness thereat, 

nth the consequence that we make the purely imagin- 
Lry evil twenty times worse, to ourselves and to others, 
(by brooding over it. 

The attention of middle-aged women should be 

lirected far more to the care they should take of 
;heir persons than to the taste they display in their 
toilets. Who has not heard women with grown-up 
[children say, with touching simplicity, " Oh, I need 
'not mind how I look, now that I am becoming an old 
woman " ? This is about the greatest mistake that one 
[can well commit, for, on the contrary, it is when youth 
land beauty begin to disappear that women should be 
miost anxious to repair du temps Firreparable outrage by 
'bestowing extra attention upon their appearance in 
public or at home. Sons and daughters like to be 
proud of their mother, and old husbands are just as 
(eager as youthful ones to hear their life's companion 
praised for her beauty and elegance. In order to bring 
about this result it is necessary to take the most minute 
'care of one's person. Daily baths, weekly shampoo- 
jing, daintily polished nails, faintly perfumed under- 
wear, etc., are absolutely de rigueur. Cleanliness is 
indeed next to godliness, and o ught to be observed in 




INTRODUCTION 



of anxious young mothers and wives. I shall of course 
begin with the chief subject, — the care which should 
be taken of the outward woman. 

Numerous imperfections brought on by age can 
easily be softened, if not completely avoided, with just 
a little trouble. Wrinkles — the terror of women — are 
among the number. The first rule to observe is to 
dry the face after bathing it from chin to brow, instead 
of rubbing it harshly and in all directions. A gentle 
massage of the face is also recommended, and a few 
drops of tincture of benzoin added to a basinful of 
warm water render the skin smooth and firm. 

Banville — an author of much acumen and wit — 
often used to declare that " a woman can always be 
beautiful if she wants to be so." Nothing is truer : 
but to succeed in this pleasant undertaking she must 
possess an iron will and much perseverance. I pro- 
pose to give here a few hints and some advice, together 
with a number of recipes, both ancient and modern, 
which if followed and applied will prove quite as valu- 
able to the girl yet in her teens as to the married 
woman, or even the grandmother who, out of consider- 
ation for those about her, has not given up the desire 
to please by the care she takes of her mature charms. 
I will let my readers into many a little dressing-room 
secret, and attempt to demonstrate how every woman 



GU 



on earth, whether she has been especially gifted by! 
Nature or not, can succeed in rendering herself lovely 
and lovable to all those with whom she comes into 
contact. 

I am sorry to say that many " very good " wives 
have a way of thinking that because they are devoted 
to their husbands, they can abandon all harmless 1 
coquetries and renounce, once and for all, the many! 
little innocent artifices which so much enhance the 
appearance of those who have lost the first bloom of< 
youth. In my opinion it is, on the contrary, the mar- 
ried woman who ought to turn her full attention t( 
the difficult undertaking of keeping her husband's ad-' 
miration and love alive. It is easy enough to first I 
attract a man's attention, but to retain his regard after 
years of wedded life is another question altogether, and 
well worthy of our consideration. 

A great number of society women, of course, rush 
to the opposite extreme and become martyrs to the 
11-pervading thought of being pretty. Strangely 
enough, it is precisely these tireless mondaines who lose 
their fraicheur first. This is explained by the unnat- 
ural life they lead. First of all, the innumerable gay- 
ties of their existence result in their never going to bed 
much before daylight, — at least during the season, — 
in their never eating: anythi ng digestible or^jkinkini 



anything wholesome, in their attempting by hook or 
by crook to make their waist half as small as it really 
is, and in their destroying their nerves with chloral, 
morphine, tea, sweetmeats, bonbons, ices, and many 
other things. 

The preservation of beauty necessitates that of] 
health, and also a perfect repose of heart and brain, not 
to mention a sweet temper ; for nothing brings on 
wrinkles like perpetual frowns. However, it is best 
to begin this work by treating the different points of j 
the subject one by one, in detail ; or, so to speak, byj 
setting the principal lines of the scaffolding meant to' 
uphold "the beauty of woman." 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



CHAPTER I 



THE DRESSING-ROOM AND BATHS 




THE woman in moderate circumstances, as well 
as she whose wealth is almost unlimited, should 
make a point of having one room which is the sanctum 
especially devoted to her exclusive use, a place where 
she dresses and undresses, where she can find a refuge 
in the moments when she feels out of sorts or sad, and 
entrance to which is obtained only by her special per- 
mission. The dressing-room should be furnished as 
elegantly as possible, according to the means of the 
fair divinity of this shrine, and always kept in perfect 
order. It is desirable to have a bath-room attached to 
it, or at any rate a smaller apartment where the bathing 
apparatus, tubs, etc., are kept ; but, failing this, the tub 
can easily find a place in the dressing-room itself if care 
is taken to put a large square of oilcloth or linoleum 
underneath it in order to prevent the carpet from being 
splashed. 

It is well known that the dressing-rooms of great 
ladies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were 






DRESSING-ROOM AND BATHS 9 

more like boudoirs than anything else. The walls were 
frescoed by celebrated artists, the draperies were of 
delicate, hand-painted satins, and the objets-de-toilette, 
strewed on porphyry and onyx tables, of gold, silver, 
and vermeil. In Paris, the most perfect cabinet-de- 
toilette belongs to a young and beautiful Duchess of the 
noble- Faubourg, and a short description of it may be 
useful to any woman possessing a sufficiently large rent- 
roll to afford such luxuries. 

U A casket fit for a pearl" is this peerless room. 
The furniture is of finely carved ivory mosaics, the 
hangings are of ivory-hued velvet, embroidered by 
hand, with trailing garlands of peach-blossoms and 
knots of rosy heath. The ceiling is decorated with 
" the Story of Love," and the glass in the windows 
is milk-white, engraved with the crest of the Duchess 
and overhung with double curtains of point d'Alencon 
lace lined with pale pink satin. The floor is covered 
entirely by a silver-fox fur carpet, and broad lounges, 
deep arm-chairs, and piles of silken cushions are scattered 
here and there. In each corner are large square, pink- 
and-white Sevres boxes mounted on silver claw-feet, 
containing flowering pink and white shrubs. The toilet- 
table stands between two windows. It is shrouded in 
Alencon lace over pale pink satin tied with moire bows, 
and the Saxe mirror, framed by a ronde of Cupids, is 




10 



V 



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surrounded by gold-topped bottles and gold-backed 
brushes, with the monogram and coronet on each piece 
|in rubies and diamonds. The monumental mantel- 
>iece, of pink marble, supports a low jardiniere of sil- 
ver repousse work, at every season of the year filled 
fwith violets. 

On the tables and cabinets are a profusion of cut 
lowers in rock-crystal vases and bowls, rendering the 
(atmosphere odorous as that of a hothouse. Opening 
into the dressing-room is a bath-room of pink marble, 
Lwith a tub as big as a small pond, and farther on is a 
[chamber lined throughout with cedar, violet, and sandal- j 
wood closets, where the Duchess's dresses and lingerie 
^are kept. 

Without all this extravagance, however, a dressing- 
troom may be made to look elegant and attractive. 
'The prettiest combination is as follows : Have the 
walls and ceiling covered with pale-green, pale-pink, 
pale-lemon, or pale-blue Pompadour cretonne — ac- 
cording to your complexion. Cream-hued lace win- 
dow-curtains underlie those of cretonne, and the floor 
should be spread with a thick Aubusson carpet har- 
Imonizing in color with the hangings. The lounge, 
tchairs and arm-chairs can be of Japanese bamboo or of 
pitch-pine, upholstered in cretonne, and a large three- 
leaved minor should Ji£ placed in a li ght coiner. A. 



DR 




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long table should be provided for the basin and ewer, 
the dishes where sponges, toilet-brushes, etc., are con- 
tained, and the flacons of perfume. 

On another table, surmounted by a mirror, can be 
put the numerous pieces of the dressing-case, andi 
also a large duchesse-pincushion made of lace ove 
silk. The newest brushes, boxes, etc., are tortoise- 
shell inlaid with gold and silver, or ivory inlaid with 
silver, which is extremely pretty, but somewhat costly. 
A great many women continue to use the beautiful 
repousse silver-backed brushes, with combs in silver 
frames, heart-shaped trinket boxes, hairpin boxes, hat 
and clothes-brushes, buttonhook, bottles, tray, etc., 
and they are likely to remain in vogue for years to 
come. The tub and its accompanying linoleum cloth 
are stowed away behind a curtain when not in use, and 
consequently do not detract from the dainty appearance 
of the room. 

Although a tepid bath should be taken at least once 
a day, a hot bath is indispensable once or twice a week. 
It should never be forgotten that the human skin is a 
respiratory organ, and that through its myriads of pores 
the entire system exudes impurities ; therefore health 
suffers when the pores become clogged up. Many 
diseases and illnesses would be avoided were more 
attention accorded to the function of bathing. A 




12 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



daily bath is absolutely necessary for health's sake. 
A delicate woman may take it at night if afraid of 
catching cold, but a daily bath every woman must 
have if she wishes to remain beautiful and in good 
health. 

When the bath is taken in the morning a thorough 
sponging of the entire body should be indulged in at 
night, and care should be taken not to expose one's self 
to draughts or sudden changes of temperature for at least 
an hour after any bath. Cold baths in a tub are not 
to be recommended, as they convey too great a shock 
to the feminine organization. Very hot ones are good 
for full-blooded persons, but are enervating and en- 
feebling. As a rule it is safer to use water heated to 
about eighty degrees, and the duration of the " dip " 
should never be prolonged beyond ten minutes in a 
tub. 

A wonderfully soothing bath is prepared in the fol- 
lowing way : Put in a bag of muslin or cheese-cloth 
two handfuls of violets, two handfuls of dried prim- 
roses, an equal quantity of elderblossoms, of rose 
leaves, of lavender, and of rosemary. Let this mixture 
soak for half an hour in boiling water and then add 
enough cold water to make the bath lukewarm. 

Oatmeal or bran-baths are excellent for the skin, 
and so is the so-called baln-de-beaute to which our great- 




DRESSING-ROOM AND BATHS 

grandmothers were addicted, but this is a little more 
complex in its preparation. 

Take 2 pounds of barley. 
2 " oatmeal. 

2 " fine bran. 

2 " rice. 

2 " pulverized lupine seeds. 

8 ounces bi-carbonate of soda. 

8 " borax, and 1 pound each of dried lavender 
flowers, thyme, and bay-leaves. 

Boil this in a sufficient quantity of rain water for an \ 
hour, and after straining carefully mix two quarts with 
the bath water. 

The celebrated beauties of antiquity improved their 
loveliness by adding to their bath all kinds of vegetable Xfo 
and organic substances. Poppaea, Nero's beautiful 
wife, used to bathe in ass's milk wherein lettuce leaves 
had been previously soaked. Isabeau, of Bavaria, 
consort of Charles VI., took every morning during the 
spring and summer a bath of strawberry juice. In the 
eighteenth century the great ladies of the court of 
France were addicted to the use of linseed-water baths, 
while Marie Czetwertynoska, the belle-amie of Alex- 
ander I. of Russia, plunged every morning into a large 
tank filled to the brim with Spanish wine. It is 
asserted that Ninon de PEnclos owed her wonderful 




N 





complexion and extraordinary preservation from the 
ravages of old age to her daily bath of chick weed 
water, oatmeal, and cows' milk. Madame Tallien, 
who prided herself on her exquisite skin, bathed all the 
year round in raspberry juice, which was prepared in 
enormous quantities for her during the time when this 
fragrant fruit was in season, and kept in cedar-wood 
casks in the cellars of her house. 

Without wishing to intrude on the domain of medi- 
cine just yet, I may add, however, that a most strength- 
ening bath, excellent for the cure of rheumatism and 
lumbago, is prepared thus : Make an emulsion of soft,] 
white soap, essence of turpentine, tincture of benzoin, 
essence of rosemary, and essence of Norwegian pine, in 
equal parts. Add two quarts thereof to the bath water, 
in which have been previously dissolved, four ounces 
of bi-carbonate of soda, a quart of spinach juice and 
twenty pounds of sea-salt. This bath must be taken 
before going to bed and very hot. 

One cannot insist too strongly on the necessity of 
baths. Uncleanliness is unfortunately the portion of 
the great majority of people, and physicians when ques- 
tioned on the subject w T ill be forced to acknowledge that 
t least one good half of the ailments to which poor 
humanity is subjected result from a too infrequent use 
/of soap and. wat< 







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AND B 



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A question which agitates the feminine heart is — 
soap, or no soap ? Some skins are so delicate that even 
the purest of soaps forms an irritant. For such as 
these, a sprinkling of borax in tepid water will be found 
both a cleansing and a pleasing substitute. Rub thei 
skin well with a soft towel, and afterwards polish the 
face with a chamois leather, of the kind obtainable at 
the chemists. These ablutions may be performed at 
night shortly before retiring. For those to whom soap 
is essential, due care must be exercised to see that this 
much advertised article is pure ; once a day is quite 
sufficient to lather the face, otherwise too much of the' 
natural oil may be brought off the skin. In my opin- 
ion soap cannot be dispensed with, as nothing better 
to clear the pores of the skin from impurities has as 1 
yet been discovered. I often wonder if Adelina Patti 
ever realizes the immense amount of harm which she 
has wrought throughout the length and breadth of the 
civilized world by her admission that she uses neither 
soap nor water, but merely cold cream for the pur- 1 
pose of cleansing her face ? This confession has had 
the effect of convincing thousands upon thousands of 
women that the great songstress is indebted for the 
marvellous preservation of her beauty, and, above all,, 
of her complexion, to the absence of those two great 1 
elements of cleanliiiess, soap an d wat er ; and the^issult 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



is that they religiously abstain from the use thereof, 
under the mistaken impression that by so doing they 
jare likely to enhance their physical attractions. Daily 
I encounter numbers of pretty women whose beauty is 
marred by the greasy, unwholesome aspect of their 
complexion, which bears striking and abundant evidence 
(of the fact that, following the example of Patti, they 
have confined themselves to the use of cold cream in 
washing " — the word is inappropriate — their faces. 
tPoor, deluded creatures ! They entirely lose sight of 
ftwo important considerations in the matter. The first 
is that the slightest suspicion of greasiness or un- 
cleanliness of the face has the effect of repelling rather 
Ithan attracting admiration. For men naturally infer 
'that if these defects are apparent on that feature of our 
body upon which we are supposed to lavish our great- 
est care, namely the face, the remainder of our anatomy 
imust necessarily be in a still greater degree unwhole- 
some and lacking in freshness. 

The second point to be borne in mind is this : that 
fAdelina Patti is indebted for the preservation of her 
beauty, not to the absence of soap and water or to the 
luse of cold cream in so far as her face is concerned, 
[but to her carefully organized mode of life, to her 
Spartanlike diet, and to her abstemiousness. Her love- 
liness is part and parcel of her stock in trade, and serves 



DRESSIN 



OO 



to enhance the charm of her voice. The one com- 
pletes the other, and the two have contributed in nearly 
an equal degree to her fame and her popular success. 
It is therefore only natural that she should lavish as 
much care upon her beauty as upon her voice, and it is 
for the sake of the former, even more than for the 
latter, that her mode of life is ordered on such strin- 
gent lines. Patti understands better than any one else 
that the principal factors in the preservation of beauty, 
and in the maintenance of a lovely complexion are not, 
as popularly supposed, the absence of soap and water,! 
or the use of cold cream and other greasy ointments 
and washes, but merely a perfect digestion, plenty ofj 
sleep and bodily exercise, and the most complete ab- 
stemiousness with regard not only to all food and drink,! 
but as well to subjects of excitement or irritation cal-| 
culated to raise in an undue degree the temperature of 
the blood. Patti's fare, as I have stated above, is oi 
the most simple description, and when she is residing 
at her beautiful castle in Wales, or is travelling on her 1 
operatic tours, every endeavor is made by her largt 
staff of attendants and by her managers to shield her| 
from everything that could possibly annoy her or dis-f 
turb her equanimity. To these precautions, far more 
than to the use of cold cream, are due her beautiful 
complexion and the remarkable preservation of her 



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loveliness. Be it as it may Madame Patti has found! 
many disciples who think it necessary when reclining 
in their warm bath to plaster their face with some 
i greasy substance or other in order to keep any of the^ 
ibath-water from touching the skin. I cannot for an 
instant advocate such a practice, and must moreover 
warn my readers that the adoption of it is extremely 
[likely to bring on pimples and turgescence of the 
[epidermis. 

Another important consideration is that of donning 
clean linen after the bath. I do not mean that it is 
absolutely necessary to put on an entire set of fresh under- 
clothes after each matutinal plunge in the tub, but in 
any case the clothes which have been worn during the 
,day should be perfectly aired at night, and if possible 
.hung on a clothes-horse or screen to dry and sweeten 
(during the hours of sleep. The Mahomedans of the 
lower classes, who are so careful in the observance of 
[the ablutions prescribed to them by the Koran, may 
Lot be thought to be much cleaner than the thousands 
'of benighted individuals who do not bathe at all, for 
after having minutely washed themselves in pure water 
Jthey are compelled, by poverty, to dress themselves 
igain in the squalid garments which they had tempo- 
rarily cast aside. Still I would infinitely prefer their 
:lean healthy skins in this mi ser a ble a ppareLlo tl 



DRESSING-ROOM AND BATHS 19 



deplorable condition of so many unwashed, but fashion- 
ably dressed men and women, whom we meet every 
day in our ultra-civilized part of the world. It reminds 
me of the words of Ben Jonson who says so truly — 

"Still to be neat, still to be dressed 
As you were going to a feast, 
Still to be powdered, still perfumed, 
Lady, it is to be presumed, 
Though art's hid causes are not found, 
All is not sweet, all is not sound ! " 



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20 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



CHAPTER II 

COMPLEXION AND PERFUMES 

A FACT which is not generally sufficiently noticed 
by women is that any alteration in their com- 
plexion always corresponds with the condition of their 
health. This is all the proof needed to demonstrate 
that even the slightest feeling of illness exercises a 
marked influence on the good looks and that the com- 
plexion is, so to speak, a thermometer indicating the 
state of the entire system. Therefore, a yellow tinge 
of the skin, a heightening of the color of the face, 
pimples, blackheads, exfoliation and other affections o 
a like nature, should always be attended to without 
delay. I do not speak of the ordinary skin diseases, 
which of course are very serious and belong entirely to 
the domain of the doctor, but simply of momentary 
changes of the complexion. 

Pimples are frequently brought on by the use of 
unclean towels, sponges, face-cloths, etc, and also by 
the use of injurious or rancid cosmetics, cold-cream, 
vaseline and other substances, employed when not fresh. 
The surest remedy in such cases is to wash the face 



\\\ 



COMPLEXION AND PERFUMES 21 



three times a day with very hot water and immediately 
afterwards in tepid milk. Dry the skin thoroughly 
with a fine linen towel, apply a light layer of white 
vaseline or English cold-cream, and after having rubbed 
this off gently with flakes of medicated cotton, powder 
the face slightly with ordinary baby powder. Black- 
heads or flesh-worms, which are very liable to degener- 
ate into ugly-looking white pimples, are by no means 
endowed with a life of their own, although this is the 
general belief concerning them. They are simply the 
result of uncleanliness, for the oily matter exuded by 
the pores forms these black specks which dishonor the 
prettiest face and are in reality nothing but accumulated 
dirt ! When the black-heads have once been permitted 
to form, it is a difficult matter to get rid of them. Many 
applications are recommended for the purpose, for 
instance, bi-carbonate of soda dissolved in hot water, 
borax water, white of egg applied to the skin on retir- 
ing to bed, pure alcohol, etc. ; but besides being irritating 
to the tissues, all these substances are only successful 
for a brief period, and when too often repeated are worse 
than the evil that they are supposed to cure. The only 
way of getting permanently rid of black-heads is to 
wash thoroughly night and morning with water as 
warm as it can be borne, and then bathe the face for 
ten minutes at least in tepid milk by means of a soft 



GL 



and very fine sponge. Continue this for a month andl 
you will find that your skin has become pure and sweet 
as a baby's. 

All the remedies so highly recommended in news- 
(paper advertisements for beautifying the complexion 
are decidedly to be avoided j for not only are they 
almost always inefficacious, but often absolutely danger- 
ious and liable to bring about most serious skin diseases. 
[Arseniate of lead, mercury, bismuth, salts of copper, 
etc., enter to a greater or lesser extent into the com- 
position of lotions and cosmetics, which although 
guaranteed by the manufacturers to be perfectly harm- 
less, have worked much havoc and are likely to work 
,more, in spite of all these assertions as to their 
iharmlessness. 

Some time ago a young friend of mine who, although 
^celebrated for her extreme loveliness, committed the 
error of trying to enhance still further the beauty of her 
'pink and white complexion by the use of cosmetics, 
suddenly fell into a state of incomprehensible languor 
[and ill-health. She lost all her appetite and became so 
weak and wan that the doctors consulted were unan- 
imously of the opinion that although her heart, lungs, 
liver, and in short all her vital organs were in perfect 
>rder, she was yet rapidly approaching the end of life. 
fFortunatelv- one jnorning her familv physi cian wai 



COMPLEXION 



2 3 



ushered into her dressing-room just as, seated before 
her luxuriously appointed toilet-table, she was carefully 
rubbing her face and neck with a pink, creamy substance 
contained in one of those highly decorated and gilded 
boxes so dear to the fashionable perfumer. 

" What is that ? " said the doctor, pointing to thej 
cosmetic. 

" Oh ! it is a wonderful preparation for softening 
the skin," replied his pretty patient, enthusiastically. 

He took up the box, smelled its contents suspiciously, 
and then coolly put it in his pocket, saying as he did so,, 
" Well, I am going to have this analyzed, for I think! 
I have discovered the cause of your troubles." 

The sensible physician was right. Analysis proved , 
that the deliciously flavored "cream" contained a 
large percentage of white lead, and this it was that 
was poisoning my young friend. Subjected to heroic 
treatment in order to eliminate the quantities of lead 
absorbed by her system through the pores of the skin, 
she completely recovered, and is now as blooming as! 
ever; but had it not been for the lucky chance that 
permitted her doctor to discover the source of the 
evil, death would undoubtedly have been caused by 
the attractive cosmetic wherein so frightful a poison 
lurked. This instance only constitutes an additional 
prigof of my statement that complexion and healthcare 






EVE'S GLOSSARY 



very closely associated, and that by the variations of the 
former we can always ascertain the state of the latter. 

In Oriental countries ladies have, according to their 
own assertions, a yet more effective and rapid way of 
discovering the slightest disorder of their constitution 
by wearing certain stones, that change color when 
their wearer is threatened by illness of any kind. It 
is a well-known fact that turquoises turn green when 
worn by persons suffering from fever, but what is not 
generally known is that there exists a kind of ruby, 
found in Ceylon and called the " sympathetic ruby," 
which, when its wearer is ill, or even out of sorts, loses 
its bright pigeon-blood hue and turns a dull, milky pink. 
Likewise, some kinds of emeralds are believed to possess 
the property of warning their wearers of coming evil. 
Like the ruby, the emerald was a gem greatly prized 
and much idealized by the ancients, and like the ruby 
and the diamond, it was said to give forth a brilliant, 
self-generated light, which paled when worn by people 
attacked with mysterious diseases. Whether the power 
of the emerald is really as great as the ancients believed 
it to be or not, this beautiful stone has been in times gone 
by, and is at the present day considered in the light of 
a talisman. Charlemagne had a huge emerald, which 
did good service as the guard and casket of a piece of 
the true cross. This talisman rendered him invisible, 




COMPLEXION AND PERFUMES 25 



and was found round his neckbone when his tomb was 
opened. 

My principal object in writing this book is to fore- 
warn women against all empirical so-called " secrets of 
beauty," and to encourage them to adopt the many 
means which Nature herself has placed within their 
reach to preserve and enhance their charms, without 
having recourse to the counsels of quacks, whose only 
im is to make money, regardless of the harm that they 
may work with the poisonous compounds they sell or 
recommend. There are, of course, among the many 
roducts sold for beautifying the complexion, a number 
f waters, oils, and unguents which are, comparatively 
speaking, harmless. One of these is the Queen oT 
Hungary's toilet water, the secret of which was dis- 
covered some time after her Majesty's death. Queen 
Elizabeth of Hungary is supposed to have owed the 
marvellous preservation of her extreme loveliness to 
the use of this water, and as, when she attained the 
age of seventy her beauty was still dazzling enough to 
inspire a burning passion in the eighteen-year-old Grand 
Duke of Lithuania, who never rested until she con- 
sented to become his wife, there must surely have been 
some potent virtue in this face-wash. It is composed 
of rectified alcohol, essence of Hungarian rosemarin, 
essence of lemon peel, essence of mint, essence of 




EVE'S GLOSSARY 



balm, spirits of roses, spirits of orange blossoms, and 
it is applied with a soft tuft of cotton, and allowed to 
dry on the skin before retiring for the night. 

Face powders should be selected with the utmost 
(care, for in many instances those sold under pompous 
and high-sounding names contain a harmful proportion 
of carbonate of lead, oxide of zinc, or arsenic. The 
jonly absolutely innocuous powder is the ordinary baby 
Ipowder, scented with violet, or if something more 
adherent is desired, one should use Fay's Veloutine. p* 

Wrinkles, the great destroyers of beauty, have a 
language of their own, and are occasionally even elo- 
quent. An unusually great development of the vertical 
lines produces the arched wrinkles of the forehead,! 
which graphically tell of long and cruel physical suffer- 
ing or mental torture of a terrible kind. The wrinkles 
'that descend from the nostrils to the mouth come ofl 
frequent smiles or laughter. Habitual frowning results 
in disagreeable lines converging toward the centre of 
|the brow. Temper writes its story on the face, and 
he who runs may read. Crow's-feet, says Signor' 
Mantegazza, belong to the fortieth year, but there are 
'many people who miraculously elude them. There 
(are women in France who are treated for wrinkles by 
la professor, who banishes them by gently rubbing the 
skirL -about- the e\&es^fhjLan hnnr ^ Hsv The-cost 



this treatment is very great, but it is willingly paid, 
although I cannot imagine why one could not do it 
one's self. An excellent preventive of wrinkles is the 
application to the face at night of a teasponful of sweet] 
cream taken from the morning's milk. This extremeh 
mollifying substance should be very gently rubbed into] 
the skin with the finger, following the direction of the 
wrinkle, and never crossing it. The massage must 
be continued for at least a quarter of an hour, after 
which some more cream is well rubbed in and the entire" 
face powdered with finely ground starch, into which 
small quantity of alum, say one teaspoonful to a pound^ 
of starch, has been incorporated. 

A very effectual lotion for the removal of wrinkles] 
is that known throughout France as Eau de Circe : 

Take of powdered benzoin, 32 grains. 
" " incense, 32 grains. 

" " gum arable, 32 grains. 

Dissolve completely in 8 ounces of alcohol, when 
add: — 

Powdered sweet almonds, 46 grains. 

Ground cloves, 16 grains. 

Ground nutmeg, 16 grains. 

Let this stand for two days, shaking it occasionally ; 
then add rose water, 1% fluid ounces, after which! 
filter and use a t nigh t before retiring 





28 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




Premature wrinkles brought on bv sudden loss of 
flesh, frequent weeping or suffering, may be effaced bv 
the application at night of a lotion prepared according 
U to this formula : — 

Rose water, 6 fluid ounces. 

Almond milk, \% fluid ounces. 

Sulphate of aluminum, 60 grains. 

Shake well until dissolved. 



On returning from the seaside women often observe 
with regret that sun and salt breezes have turned the 
milky whiteness of their face and hands to a golden 
brown, which certainly does not look well when 
decollete dresses are worn, and gives them an appearance 
vaguely recalling coffee-and-vanilla ice. An old and 
tried remedy for this temporary disfigurement, handed 
/A down to us from the Middle Ages, is prepared bv boil- 
ing a handful of parsley in a quart of distilled water j 
filter, then add 15 grains of powdered alum, 15 grains 
of powdered borax, and 15 grains of pulverized cam- 
phor. Shake well and use twice a da v. From the 
Middle Ages, too, comes a recipe for giving a pink and 
healthful appearance to the complexion. Take of 







I 



V>> 






22; 



COMPLEXION AND PERFUMES 



To which add a pinch of shredded red-sandalwood.j 
Let all this remain for half an hour over a slow fire, 
care being taken that it does not come to a boil. 
Filter and place in a stone bottle to cool. Wash the 
face with weak soap-water, then sponge with the mix-i 
ture, letting it dry on the face, to which it communi-! 
cates a delicate, rosy tinge. 

For freckles a sure remedy is : 

Distilled water, 

Dextrine, 

Glycerine, 

Oxide of zinc, 

Oxychloride of bismuth, 

Mercuric chloride, 

This being a powerful application it should be use< 
very sparingly and applied to the affected parts witl 
a soft camel's-hair brush. A far more harmless, if a^ 
little less efficacious, remedy is : — 

Castor oil (white), 

White wax (dissolved), 

Vaseline, 

Spermaceti, 

Salicylic acid, 

Essence of bitter almonds, 

To be applied at night. 

There are many people falsely imbued with the idei 
that perfumes are bad for the health and especially s< 




6 fluid ounces. 

y^ ounce. 

2 ounces. 

160 grains. 

60 grains. 

6 grains. 



4 ounces. 
300 grains. 
300 grains. 
100 grains. 
100 grains. 
60 drops. 






[3° 



for the nervous system. This is a great mistake, and 
I for one am a firm believer in the axiom which says : 

" If thou wouldst keep in health, fear not perfumes ; 
If thou wouldst keep in beauty, fear not perfumes. " 

'f we cultivated more the use of perfumes, there would 
be less disease in the world. It has been proved be- 

r ond a doubt that no epidemic ever enters a perfume 
laboratory. Hospital nurses in many European coun- 
tries escape contagion bv carrying musk in their 

:lothes. Moreover, perfumes contain nutritious ele- 
'ments, for Pliny tells us of an Indian tribe whose 
nourishment was confined to certain perfumes. Old 
ipeople, it is said, may prolong their lives by mixing 
isaffron and castoreum with their wines. Bacon men- 
tions a man who fasted many days surrounding him- 

ielf with aromatic herbs. There are no less than 80 
remedies which are attributed to rue, 41 to mint, 
'the same number to iris, 32 to the rose, 21 to the 
ilv, and 17 to the violet. Nothing purifies bad air 
(better than perfumery, and it is a great mistake, there- 
fore, to decry scents and banish them from our homes 

.nd toilet. They should not be considered as mere 

objects of luxury, but as a necessity to preserve us 

Tom illness. 
Sokes arealso .conducive to heal th, and it is_ a w ell- 






COM 







&vw£- 


Jn^t 


mrf 



3 1 



known fact that, after the Dutch despoiled the Spice 
Islands of their trees, those islands, which until then 
had been exempt from disease, soon became overrun 
with dreadful epidemics. Of course, all perfumes are 
not healthy ; some are poisonous, as some kinds of food] 
are poisonous. But should we discard food because 
all kinds are not equally nutritious ? Doctors of old 
were wiser in their generation than our present lights 
of medical science. Hippocrates, for instance, rid 
Athens of the plague by perfumery after every other 
means had failed. Flowers and plants were hung on 
all the houses of the city and aromatic herbs were! 
burnt in all the streets and public .places. The four 
thieves who stripped the victims of the plague at, 
Marseilles owed the preservation of their health to ai 
similar cause. They carried with them an aromatic 
vinegar made of herbs, which enabled them to laugh 
at death until they were caught, when three of them 
were hanged ; the fourth saved his life by disclosing 
his secret to the doctors, who had probably forgotten 
Hippocrates' experiment, or had never heard of it. 
Musk, the most decried of all perfumes, should on the 
contrary be held in high esteem. A proverb compares 
it to Virtue — who sheds her beauties around withoutj 
being seen. Among flowers, however, the rose en- 
joyed the greatest favor in ancient India ; and it js in 







3 2 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



the Vale of Cashmere that the loveliest roses grow. 
Perfumes entered — and still enter — into all religious 
ceremonies in India. They are supposed to drive 
away devils ; and it is a fact that a delicate and suave 
perfume acts with singular strength on our imagination 
and varying moods. 

It stands to reason, moreover, that perfumes purify | 
the atmosphere and in a great measure destroy millions 
of microbes floating in the air of our dwellings. This 
evil can be most successfully combated by burning or 
scattering perfumes all over the house. Attar of roses,! 
although somewhat sickly to inhale, is a most healthful' 
odor. Unfortunately, real attar of roses is so expen- 
sive as to be beyond the reach of most people, but I 
may add that one drop of this all-powerful essence ii 
sufficient to fill the entire house with fragrance, where- 
as a pint of its imitations found at all perfumers' would 
not achieve the same result. 

Violets are^par excellence, the perfume of true women] 
of the world. Their discreet, lasting, and penetrat- 
ing fragrance is refreshing in the extreme, and very dis- 
tingue besides. The violet is a flower of legend, and 
its delicious odor has something mystical about it. 
According to tradition it was once a damsel. Al 
the popular flowers have been human beings in theii 
time, changed through some misfortune or by the 



COMPLEXION AND PERFUMES 



beneficence of the gods into immortal flowers. The 
violet was Ianthe, a favorite nymph of Artemis. 
Apollo fell in love with her, and the goddess, wishing 
to protect her favorite from apparently undesirable 
attentions, dyed her blue. Ianthe, however, preferred 
the annoyances attendant upon beauty to ugliness. 
She pined away, and Artemis, full of regret for her 
mistaken interference, changed her into a violet. 

Sachets filled with violet-powder mixed with crushed 
orris-root ought to be placed in the cupboards and 
closets of every dressing-room, as also in the chests of 
drawers containing baby-linen. 

A very effective way of perfuming wardrobes is to 
rub the woodwork of the interior with sandal-oil, oil 
of wild geranium, oil of verbena, or oil of violets, 
according to taste. 

Every woman ought to adopt an individual perfume 
instead of mixing several fashionable scents, as is too 
often the case. This is a very vulgar mistake and 
produces a regrettable cacophony of odors, disagree- 
able to sensitive nostrils. I need not add that the lin- 
gerie y petticoats, and, in one word, all the articles of 
apparel that one is about to put on, should always be 
previously vaporized with an atomizer containing the 
perfume of one's choice. Tiny sachets sewn into the 
skirts and bodices of dresses are very pleasant, and 



some fair Parisiennes go so far as to have a gigantic 
sachet spread under the carpet of their dressing-room 
(and boudoir, — a very raffin'e and effective means of per- 
r ading a room with a soft and permanent fragrance. 

Perfumes, unfortunately, are often influenced by 
^fashion. At one time their use is exaggerated, while 
at another they are altogether condemned. Then most 
>ersons think it correct to affect the greatest aversion 
(for perfumes ; even those who love them dare not con- 
fess their predilection. Sweet odors also preserve us 
[from the evil effects of bad odors which are poisons to 
us. The one is an antidote for the other. Let us, then,j 
be ashamed of bad odors, but not of sweet perfumes. 

Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes ingeniously remarked 
'that smell recalls a long-forgotten scene, or person, more 
ireadily than any of the other senses. Many people, 
'doubtless, have verified the statement. Dr. Holmes 
explains that the nerves of smell communicate with the 
brain by a shorter cut than others, and thus rouse 
jit to greater activity; so, at least, we understand the 
explanation. 

It accounts in a manner for the ease with which 
I dogs recognize an old friend after years of absence, 
(even though they be blind ; it accounts also, perhaps, 
for a curious custom of some savages, who greet a 
rela '\ye or rnmrade unse en for awhile hv smelling hil 




COMPLEXTON 



35 



all over. I once beheld in the Soudan the return of 
jTjgpjla youth who had been captured in childhood and en- 
slaved. His kinsfolk took him in their arms warmly ; 
[but, instead of kisses, one after another sniffed his 
head, shoulders, and breast with a thoughtful air, and 
.handed him to the next ! Possibly the sense of smell 
'is still so keen among these primitive tribes that they 
recognize a distinct odor of individuals; more prob- 
[ably, the practice is a " survival." With the forest- 
braces of Borneo, indeed, a gesture as of smelling takes 
[the place of our shake-hands ; but it is merely a sugges- 
tion, as a rule. If Europeans ever had such a devel- 
>pment of the olfactory nerves, it has been mercifully 
'withdrawn. Most of us are acquainted with persons 
who have an abnormal power of smelling, and desper- 
ate nuisances they are ; if all of us could nose a scent 
like dogs, decidedly life would not be worth living. 
The convenience of such a faculty under the conditions 
of civilized existence would be far outweighed by its 
'annoyances. There might be fewer accidents from 
gas, for instance, but a very large proportion of the 
[population would pass its days and nights in a state of 
lausea. In fact, it would be no loss worth speaking 
[of if the sense of smell perished altogether in the anat- 
>my of Europeans. One would be puzzled to show 
[what useful nnrnnse it serves. Tea tasters firtd a 



EVE'S 



OSSAlT 




profitable employment for it ; but tea is a very dubious 
boon. Doctors and analysts save themselves some 
little trouble by consulting their noses ; but in the long 
run they have to use less uncertain means. But in 
f primitive stages of human progress the sense of smell 
was of great assistance, no doubt, in the struggle for 
life, — a help in obtaining food, a protection against dan- 
gers of various sort. Nowadays, in the realms of civ- 
ilization, it gives annoyance or pleasure without utility 
in either case. 

A charming way of perfuming apartments is to 
procure what the French call batons aromatiques, — a 
recent invention of Lentheric, the great Parisian par- 
fumeur and chemist. These flexible sticks are not 
unlike a piece of yellow whalebone twisted into a true 
lover's-knot. You light one end of it, and as it slowly 
smoulders away, a delightful, penetrating scent of vanilla 
floats through the air. Vanilla is one of those per- 
fumes which are enjoyed by almost everybody. A 
few seem to have formed the opinion that vanilla 
used as a flavoring is intoxicating, but these are the 
identical people whom a piece of underdone beefsteak 
renders tipsy, and to whom green vegetables give all 
kinds of complaints. In some parts of the continent 
of Europe a small piece of vanilla is put into the tea- 
pot together with the tea. But there is yet a daintier 



COMPLEXION AND PERFUMES 37 



way of taking your vanilla flavor with your tea, and 
this raffin'e manner is English, and not Continental. 
When the tea or coffee service is being made, vanilla 
flavoring is added to the china when it is in the potter's 
hands, and thus baked into every article of the set. 
Whenever the tea things get hot as they are being 
used, they exhale a faint aroma of vanilla, which, to 
the fastidious, may be preferable to the actual infusion 
into beverages of a piece of the square stem of the 
aromatic vanilla-plant. 



CHAPTER III 



COSMETICS 



IT is very much against my inclinations to write 
about a practice of which I thoroughly disapprove 
But, as a great many society women have adopted the 
custom of " making up," or, to speak more plainly, o 
painting their faces, I consider it my duty to point oul! 
to them how they can do so without endangering for- 
ever the beauty of their skin, not to mention theii 
health, which, as I have said in a preceding chapter 
may suffer seriously from the use of poisonous paints 
powders, and cosmetics. 

I caution my readers in the most earnest way to 
pause before they begin to " make up," if they are not 
yet in the habit of so doing ; and if they have, to sto 
short. I have heard actresses, whose profession obliges 
them to have recourse to maquillage, loudly deplore its 
effects on their complexion ; and it is therefore a mys- 1 
tery to me why women of the world who have no need 
to do so insist upon plastering their skin with_aU sort 



OS 



ICS 



39i 



of pastes and powders, which, to begin with, deceive 
nobody, and which, I may safely add, give any woman 
an appearance of doubtful respectability. 

But enough preaching, and let us come to the point ;j 
for I know too well that my admonitions are without 
avail, and that, in spite of all I may say, society belles 
will continue to u make up " as if I had abstained from 1 
any warning in that direction. 

" ghii a bu boira " (Who once drank will drink), says 
the French proverb, to which I feel inclined to add,i 
" £)ui s'est maquille se maquillera " (Who has once mad< 
up will continue to make up). 

One of the most important points in making up is toj 
carefully cleanse the skin before and after this opera- 
tion with very pure white vaseline, which in som< 
measure prevents painting from becoming too irritat- 
ing. Wipe the face off with antiseptic gauze or tuftsj 
of medicated cotton-wool. Under no circumstances 
should blanc of any kind be applied, for not only 
does it make one look like a Pierrot, but this prepara- 
tion almost invariably contains nitrate of silver or ace- 
tate of lead, and even mercury. I hope, therefore, 
that the good sense of my readers will impel them to 
taboo this execrable and deleterious paste, which can be 
advantageously replaced by a light application of al 
cream which is much used in Oriental harems, acting 






40 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



as a purifier upon the skin rather than injuring it, and 
which is prepared as follows : — 

Beaume des Sultanes. 
Incorporate in 4 ounces of sweet almond oil 
320 grains melted white virgin wax. 
320 " whale white. 
100 " finely powdered benzoin. 

60 " tincture of ambergris. 
320 " pulverized rice feculae. 
15 " pure carmine. 

Heat and stir thoroughly to mix together ; pour into 
a china jar and allow to cool. This cream must be 
spread with extreme care and gently rubbed into the 
skin, taking care not to put any on the eyebrows or in 
the immediate neighborhood of the eyes. When this 
is done, dip a swan's-down puff or " hare's-foot " made 
of eiderdown, in some veloutine Rachel powder, or, 
if you are very fair, in pink veloutine. White powder 
ought never to be used, for a snow-white complexion, 
in spite of the poetical similes of that kind which 
abound in novels, would be simply ghostly and appalling. 
Excellent face-powder can be prepared at home with 
very little trouble, the advantage being that one can be 
certain that the ingredients are absolutely pure. A 
flesh-colored powder of which I will give the recipe is 
extremely adherent, and when used in conjunction with 



COSMETICS 



4i 



the Beaume des Sultanes masks completely any imper- 
fections of the skin, and creates by artificial light the 
delightful illusion of a creamy and superbly even com- 
plexion. This recipe has been handed down in my 
family from an ancestress who was a celebrated beauty 
at the Court of Louis XIV. of France. 

It was called then Poudre d* Amour, and is prepared 
in this fashion : — 

Scrape six juicy raw carrots and half a pink beet-root, 
squeeze the juice out through a muslin bag and put it 
aside. Take 3 ounces finely powdered corn-starch, 
mix it with the carrot and beet juice, expose it to the 
sun and stir occasionally until the fluid evaporates, leav- 
ing the tinted starch dry. Sift through a piece of silk 
gauze and add : — 



Powdered Venetian talc, 


300 grains 


" lycopodium, 


300 " 


" bergamot, 


45 " 


" bismuth, 


7 " 



Sift again and keep in a sandalwood box. 

This powder is sprinkled on the face, shoulders, and 
arms after the Beaume des Sultanes has been applied, 
and wiped ofF with flakes of cotton or antiseptic gauze. 
Brush ofF the surplus with a swan's-down pufF, and the 
skin is now ready for " rouging." The latter is a far 
more difficult task than might at first be believed, and 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




requires great attention and care j for badly applied 
rouge is abominable and alters the entire expression of 
the features. The best kind of rouge is undoubtedly in 
'powder form and is a mixture of carmine and cochi- 
Ineal. A piece of fine silk flannel is dipped into the 
powder, and the cheeks, ears, nostrils, and chin deli- 
cately touched therewith, the hand moving with a 
i rotary motion, care being taken not to produce any 
streaks of color. When only a slight tinge of pink is 
desired, and no grease or powder has been previously 
i applied — this slight heightening of color just suiting 
women who have a naturally pale, clear skin, and who! 
merely wish to brighten up their face a bit, — there are 
two kinds of simple rouges which can be recommended. 
The first is merely the juice of a beet-root diluted with 
rosewater to the shade you want to obtain. The sec- 
ond is a little more tedious in preparation, but keeps! 
for a longer time, and is, like the former, quite harm- 
less. It is known in Paris under the name of mousse 
de /raises (strawberry-foam) and can easily be made 
at home when strawberries are in season or can be 
obtained from hot-houses. 

Take three quarts of fine ripe strawberries, put them 
in a wide-mouthed, thick glass bottle together with a 
pint of distilled water. Place the bottle in a large 
saiicpnan of_watp_i^_nn a slow fife -^d let it boil for tWJ 



OS 



IC 



hours. Strain through an extra fine hair-sieve and set 
aside. When absolutely cool, add : — 

4 drops attar of roses 
2 " uc« neroli 
12 ounces deodorized spirit 
15 grains pure carmine, and 

30 " best Russian isinglass which has been previously 
melted. 



Keep in a glass jar in a cool place. Both these liquid 
rouges are applied with a fine sponge. 

Turkish women make a very effective rouge from th( 
petals of damask roses macerated in pure white vinegar.^ 
It should not be forgotten that when rouge is applied to^ 
the cheeks, the lips, nostrils, ears, and chin should bej 
slightly tinted. 

No greater mistake can be imagined than the impres- 
sion that there exists any face ointment or paint, whether^; 
liquid or powdered, which contributes to the ameliora- 
tion and beauty of the complexion. Having in the. 
course of sojourns in Egypt, Turkey, and India hadtJV 
the opportunity of visiting many harems and zenanas, 
I can assert from personal experience that no true 
Oriental beauty would ever render herself guilty of 
plastering her fair skin with any of the many paints, 
ointments, jellies, powders, and unguents used by Euro-! 
pean and American women. Haxejn women have hnf 



44 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



one object in life, namely, the maintenance and preser- 
vation of their beauty, and they understand better than 
anybody else the way of " being beautiful." Let me 
once more entreat my readers, therefore, — at the risk 
of being considered as already in my dotage and of 
repeating myself too often, — to abandon the reprehensi- 
able and barbarous practice of " making up," especially 
when carried to the extent to which it now prevails in 
London and in New York society. 

One little secret which I acquired in the Far East, 
and which I will describe, as, far from being injurious 
or unhealthy, it possesses medicinal properties, is the 
existence of a powder called Mesdjem, and which, 
when applied to the eyelids, improves the growth of the 
eyelashes. This powder is mentioned in the Koran 
under the name of Es-Med, and it is this substance 
which the women of the tribe of Ammon used three 
thousand years before the Christian era. I do not 
know if Mesdjem is procurable in New York, but 
there are perfumers in Paris who send it by mail to 
any part of the globe. 

Alas ! from the earliest ages woman's besetting sin 
(or one of them) has been the love of paint. But at 
least for a good many generations it has been tacitly 
acknowledged that paint and self-respect somehow 
could not go in double harness ; and it is the fear that 




COSMETICS 



45 




this most excellent and wholesome quality should be 
in considerable danger of dying out that causes me to 
raise a note of protest and to endeavor to point out to 
women, young and old, that if they must make up, 
they should do so as unobtrusively, discreetly, and as 
safely as possible, and never buy paints or cosmetics 
at random on the recommendation, perchance, of some ' 
artfully worded advertisement. It was written of the 
wicked Queen of Israel that she " painted her face, 
dyed her hair, and looked out of the window," with the 
object of fascinating the son of Nimshi. As womeni 
are credited with desiring to please the opposite sex, it 
would seemingly follow that the latter must admire 
what is commonly called " paint ; " otherwise we should 
not be afflicted with the hideous caricatures of nature 
which are so painfully evident at every gathering of 
society. This is an egregious mistake, for I have 
always found that men jeer at painted women, — not 
in their presence, of course, — and seriously object to 
maquillage where their wives, sisters, or daughters are 
concerned. How could it be otherwise ? Do those 
who redden their cheeks with rouge, darken their eyes, 
and cover their complexion with chalk, verily believe that 
they call back the semblance of youth promised them 
by cosmetic concoctions ? Or by constant contempla- 
tion of their own artificiality have they become blind 



( to the spectacle they present to the world ? It has 
k been charitably alleged that the increase in " painted 
ladies " is the fault of fashion, the complexions of 
'•hose votaries would, but for artificial aid, appear 
lopelessly washed out by contrast with the brilliant 
lues of their garments. But as the rouge and blanc 
de perle are only too painfully apparent on the wearers 
>f many a white or black gown, the blame cannot con- 
sistently be laid at the door of fashion. No one who 
has any idea of modern social life can deny that the use 
>f all the adventitious aids to the toilet which have been 
[condemned since the days of Jezebel — paint, powder, 
enamel, hair-dye, and every other kind of " beautifier " 
is enormously on the increase in society. They 
i seem to have attractions for all ages. No longer are 
jsgirls proud of those skins which have made the name 
'of the American and British beauty famous in all parts 
of the habitable globe. The competition for admira- 
tion has become so keen that public attention must be 
^arrested at all costs. The debutante sees with the keen 
eye of feminine criticism — that visual sense which it 
is not possible to deceive when the object of its study 
lis another woman's appearance — that the " smart " 
r oung married women who are the most surrounded by 
(crowds of admirers are those who owe the most to the 
a M§-#kP X ^=S^ nt \9^^ L ; x ? nc ^ poofi tender little rosebuds 








COSMETICS 



47 




that they are, bedaub their clear, fresh, young skins 
with red, white, and blue, — very patriotic colors, to 
e sure, but which look far more in place on the 
silken folds of Uncle Sam's flag than on the cheeks of 
his daughters. 

" Making up," except when it is done in a very dis- 
creet and thoroughly artistic fashion, stamps the most 
honest woman at least as " fast," and this ought cer- 
tj^ijtainly to be sufficient to deter the fair sex from indul- 
gence in so unladylike a practice. A painted, or worse, 
'an enamelled face loses its individual expression; for the 
artificial complexion constrains one to avoid any passing fill 
emotion. Tears would destroy it, smiles or hearty 

I I laughter would crack it, and as to blushes — if fin- 
de-siecle women still blush — these delicate waves of ( 
color, so becoming to the feminine countenance, are 
invisible under a thick crust of blanc de perle and 
rouge. 

Professor Baeyer, of Munich University, in his 
researches among Egyptian mummies, recently discov-' 
ered certain cosmetics used by the ladies of fashion in 

Qthe land of the Pharaohs in the time of Princess Aft, 
entombed and embalmed some three to four thousand 
years ago ; and the question naturally arises whether the 
analyses made by this distinguished chemist have re-| 
vejiled secrets iniherto hidden from t he co mpl e xion 





EVE'S GLOSSARY 



artists of to-day. Are the women who powder and 
paint in any way in advance of their Egyptian ante- 
types ? Has Science, during the march of three or 
four thousand years, placed new compounds at their 
command for ensuring that youthful beauty shall con- 
tinue despite the ravages of time ? Or is there less 
disposition in these enlightened days to have recourse 
to artificial aids ? Or, again, if women are as vain as 
they were when Princess Aft employed the ancient 
cosmetics which have been extracted from her mummy 
coverings, have they anything yet to learn from the 
Egyptians ? 

Careful inquiry as to the present condition of the 
art of self-beautifying reveals that the methods now 
employed are practically identical with those which have 
been in vogue since the earliest days. Superbly dressed 
women are, nevertheless, frequently seen on the streets 
wearing artificial complexions which are perfectly un- 
natural, and which present, with every change in the tem- 
perature of the skin, ludicrous variations of color. A 
warning is held out by Parisian professors of " making- 
up," that certain face washes contain white lead, and 
produce a bluish tint after a long day in the sun. The 
mauve hue so common in cold weather also, it is 
alleged, proceeds from such deleterious ingredients as 
oxide of zinc, which is said to have been used for 



COSMETICS 



49 



forty centuries by the Egyptians, tinted, when so re- 
quired, by the alkamite root. In America even young 
girls are sometimes prone to fly to the paint-box in- 
stead of taking healthful exercise. On the other 
hand, it is very well known that calisthenics and 
open air recreations are growing rather than declining 
in popularity. There might well be, then, a corre- 
sponding decline in the employment of the artificial 
aids to beauty. 

Powder as a means of personal adornment is ap- 
parently regarded by the majority of women as per- 
fectly legitimate. At all events, the consumption of 
violet-powder and kindred preparations -can be reckoned 
in tons. They are composed of various starches and 
other ingredients, of the nature of which there is some 
reluctance to speak ; because it is not pleasant, perhaps, 
to be told that potatoes, nuts, French chalk, and 
ground talc may enter into the composition of these 
skin-coolers. The public often displays an extraordi- 
nary disregard of its own health in the use of injurious 
mixtures ; and if she does not feel inclined to prepare 
them herself, the only safe thing for a woman to do is 
to buy her powders and cosmetics of the best manufac- 
turers, whose reputation is a guarantee that they will 
not permit adulteration. 

I am sorry to add that cc making up " is by no means 



50 



GL 



restricted to the weaker members of society in these 
decadent and degenerate days, for some of the so-\ 
called young " exquisites " which one meets in Newi 
York and sometimes also on the Continent are guilt] 
of improving — as they believe — their complexions 
by maquillage. A weak-kneed, miserable, vain speci- 
men of humanity is this sad creature, who has literally 
no redeeming points that I can discover, but who ye\ 
gives himself all the airs of one to whom the universe^ 
ought to do homage. He is to be seen at first nights 
waddling to his seat with a gait which he imagines toJ 
be graceful, but which is in reality painfully absun 
His thin, high-pitched voice is heard at private views] 
pronouncing a languid and final decision upon tfy 
merits of the works of art exhibited. He standi 
against the walls of ballrooms, — unable to dance 
because nobody asks him, and he could hardly be s< 
manly as to invite anybody, — with poised head am 
rounded eyes, intent upon his artistic pose, and anxiousj 
that every gaze should be upon him. Nor is that all 
for, as I have said above, it is an absolute fact that 
large number of young men get themselves up. Olc 
beaux I leave entirely out of the question. The rougt 
pot and the powder pufF find a place on the toilet-tabh 
of the former. Their eyebrows are darkened; theii 
hair_i_s oiieji carnpefLor nirteri and snmpfjrnpg ei 




t? 



51 



dyed, and their figures are trained and artificially 
improved. 

There has been of late years much talk about the 
"mannish" woman, but it is well to remember that] 
she is closely rivalled by the womanish or " ladylike "J 
man to whom I am referring. 

Many of the toilet shops in London, Paris, and New 1 
York would have to put up their shutters if deprived of 
their male customers. Paint, powder, perfumes, dyes, 
creams for the complexion, and washes for hair andj 
moustache are among the more innocent of the pur- 
chases of these dandies. Manicure sets to trim theii 
dainty finger-nails, irons for waving and curling thatj 
exquisite moustache, which, by the bye, must be dye( 
to the latest tint of reddish brown, scented sachets 
to fasten inside their coats, perfumed cachous where- 
with to sweeten their breath, — all these and many! 
other items of toilet trickery form part of the indis- 
pensable "get up" of our modern ultra society man^ 
Alas ! where are the knights of old to whom th( 
weaker sex used to look up ! " Mais ou sont les neiges 
d'antan f " Is this to be tolerated ? and ought not 
we, women of sense and heart, to deride these young 
monsters into abandoning so reprehensible and degrad- 
ing a custom, and lead the way ourselves in a great 
measure by discarding all maquillage^ and by trying, 1 




52 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



instead, to improve our appearance, simply with the 
aid of daily ablutions, exercise, healthy living, and by 
the use of such cosmetics as are derived from Nature's 
rich stock, and which I have described so many times 
in these chapters ? 

Although soap can hardly be looked upon in the 
light of a cosmetic, a few words on the subject in 
addition to what I have already said previously are 
not out of place in this chapter; for, while we have 
left far behind us the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and 
the Iron Age, we have now reached, I am happy to 
say, the Soap Age, at least in so far as the higher 
classes of society are concerned. We cannot help 
looking back with wonderment not unmixed with 
pity, to the days of our forefathers, who, poor dear 
creatures, were perfectly satisfied with a cake of old 
brown Windsor for toilet purposes. Now the names 
of toilet soaps are legion. Turn where we will we 
see swarms of advertisements, each extolling the merits 
of its own particular soap. If we are stay-at-homes, 
sitting in an arm-chair by the fire, we still have our 
opportunities of observation, for directly we put a 
paper-knife between the pages of the last new maga- 
zine the cunningly concealed strips flutter around us 
likes leaves in autumn ; these are mostly of a refined, 
pictorial description, becoming the smallness of space 



COSMETICS 



53 



allotted to them ; sometimes they rush into verse or 
anecdote, but more often, they are either transparencies, 
puzzles, or thaumatropes. But the true field for dis- 
play is the railway station. We have only to take the 
shortest journey to be convinced of this ; they even 
extend far along the line on either side. 

There are soaps warranted to wage war against and 
vanquish roughness, redness, and pimples ; there are 
others guaranteed to fortify the most delicate cuticles 
against wind and weather, and to make shaving even 
the most stubbly of chins a positive delight; there is 
even one which defies the wrinkles of old age, another 
which renders the teeth pearly white and threatens ruin 
to the dentists. There are others which insure you a 
charmed life against infectious disorders ; another brings 
about such a state of perfection that it can only be 
dedicated to the goddess of beauty herself; and another 
is of such prodigious strength that it can only be 
likened to a giant. There are even some whose 
powers are so soothing, and withal so expeditious, as 
to render the humble home a haven of rest on washing 
days ! 

A witty physician remarked some time ago, whilst 
talking of soap, that the crowning invention of the age 
with regard to this useful article had yet to be made. 
This will happen when some enterprising chemist shall 




EVE'S GLOSSARY 



i have discovered the formula of a soap which can be 
^swallowed and which will perform for the inner man 
ill that the above-described brands profess to do for 
:he outer. When this is discovered, suffering human- 
ity will have reason to hug the period in which it was 
fborn ! 

He added laughingly : " The last and best use of 
this delightful household commodity would be one 
Kvhich, alas ! seems as unattainable as the Philosopher's 
Stone, — altogether too Utopian to be sought here. If 
^some moral soap could be found which would wash 
away all recollection of injuries, all that is base and I 
ignoble, allowing worldliness and frivolity to float away 
[and die into nothingness like soap-bubbles, leaving only 
what is noble and best, so purified as to shine with 
| undying refulgence, we should be very near the reali- 
zation of the trite proverb, — 'Cleanliness is next to 
godliness.' " 

At any rate, seductively advertised soaps are both a 
[snare and a temptation to woman, when she reads that 
this soap will make her beautiful, that this one will 
wash anything without labor, or that the other will 
cure any complaint under the sun; and I therefore 
(consider it my duty to make a loyal attempt to en- 
lighten her on the subject. 

ie n fat nr ojlis -boiled with ran stir sodajJt 



55 



verted into soap. The process involves a chemical 

hange termed saponification, which is not very well 

nderstood. All that need be said about it is this : 

atural fats and oils — which are practically the same 

hing — consist of glycerine combined with what are 

ailed fatty agids ; and when they are boiled with 

austic alkali, — soda or potash, — the acids combine 

with the alkali and form soap, while the glycerine is 

eparated. The essence of good soap-making, apart 

rom the use of good materials, consists in getting 

he right proportions of alkali and acid so that they 

xactly neutralize each other. An excess of alkali 

akes the soap too strong, and therefore irritating ; 

while an excess of acid — that is, of fat — makes it 

rancid. This is true of all soaps : they are all made 

essentially upon the same principles. Any that claim 

superior merit from being made on a special principle, 

different from that of other soaps, do so under false 

pretences. The main ingredients are not merely 

mixed ; they are chemically combined, and therefore 

must always preserve the same proportions. 

The best soap is made from animal fat, beef and 
utton. Many other substances are used, and chiefly 
the vegetable oils, such as cocoanut oil, cotton-seed oil, 
nd so forth ; but these have certain great disadvan- 
tages. For instance, cocoanut-oil requires a larger 



/ 



£X' 



m 



56 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



{ \ 



m 



x- 



proportion of alkali, which makes the soap harsh ; and /\V ^ 
j^\ some others leave an unpleasant smell behind. This / 
is noticeably the case, as many laundresses and house- 
wives have discovered, with some much-advertised V\\\ 
washing-soaps which are made from cotton-seed oil. I 
will humbly add that from personal experience there //j?\W^ 
/]) are only three kinds of soap which I can safely and v- A^ A 
conscientiously recommend : plain white castile soap, 
which is always the safest; cucumber soap, a very 
refreshing preparation; and finally, if one desires to 
use something ultra-fine and highly perfumed, the 
French savon aux orchydees. 



' - 



^7 



^k 






A 



^Ct 



Vt, 



o> 






FEW HINTS ON HYGIENE 57 



CHAPTER IV 



A FEW HINTS ON HYGIENE 



AS I remarked at the beginning of this work, health 
is the first condition of beauty ; and women 
ought, therefore, to be more careful in their diet and 
general mode of life if they are desirous of preserving 
their bloom and fraicheur. In order to avoid the ail- 
ments and decrepitudes of old age, this final bankruptcy 
of womanly charms, one should never indulge in 
highly-spiced food or fiery drinks. Alcohol especially 
has a disastrous effect on the health in general, and on 
the complexion in particular. A distinguished physician 
gave a sharp and salutary shock to society some time ago 
by his startling exposures with regard to the prevalence 
of heavy drinking among women of fashion, both in 
Europe and America. He stated that many women of 
all climes who were living idle lives had consulted him 
for nervous symptoms which revealed a condition of alco- 
holism bordering on delirium tremens, but that alcohol 
was not the only fashionable failing, as chloral, chloro- 
dyne, and morphine were taken in secrecy in boudoirs, 
and were adding to the maladies of modern life. It is 




*8 




EVE'S GLOSSARY 



a fact, incredible as it may appear, that women belong- 
ing to the highest circles of society are slowly but 
urely becoming inveterate tipplers ; that many have 
ecourse to " eye-openers "at 1 1 a. m., brandy and 
oda during the day, wine at dinner, and " something 
ot " at bed-time, not to mention the post-prandial 
liqueurs of which they partake quite as freely as do the 
en. The consequence of all this is a heightened 
olor verging on salt-rheum, inflamed eyes, headaches, 
vertigo, the loss of one's fine tresses, the destruction of 
he dental enamel, and many other physical and moral 
ailments, besides the loss of one's own self-esteem, as 
well as that of others. 

One of the most noteworthy and painful features of 
the present epoch is the alarming increase of dipsomania 
among the women belonging to the highest classes of 
society in Great Britain, and in a less degree here in 
the United States. There is but little of it on the 
continent of Europe, and the tendency to strong drink, 
so far as the women are concerned, appears to be 
confined to the Anglo-Saxon races. It is difficult to 
assign any reason for this, but a reference to the rec- 
ords of the divorce courts in London, Edinburgh, and 
ew York, will furnish abundant evidence of the fact 
that in almost every case where the dissolution of the 
mac- ri ap^hag- bppt>,pro"n iinrp d i n favor o f theJms_ban< 




A FEW HINTS ION HYGIENE 



59 




dipsomania has played a very prominent part in bring- 
ng about the matrimonial shipwreck. 

It is especially in the higher circles of London so- 
ciety that this vice is rampant ; and it would seem that 
in proportion as the old-fashioned heavy drinking of the 
men diminishes, that of the ladies augments. Nothing 
is more instructive than to watch the women, both 
young and old, at the dinner parties in Mayfair and 
Belgravia, or to observe them lunching, dining, or 
supping, at the Hotel Bristol, at the Amphitryon, the 

ew Club, at the Bachelors, and at every other club 
where the fair sex are admitted. Formerly women of 
social eminence would have recoiled from the idea of 
drinking spirits, liquors, or even wines in public, and if 
they felt the need of stimulants, they took them sub rosa 
and in secret. Now, however, their hesitation on this 
score has disappeared, and the amount of sparkling and 
still wines and liquors that they consume coram publico 
is absolutely appalling. 

As a general rule the heads of our sex are not our 1 
strongest point. Our hearts are superior thereto, and 
we are invariably disposed to permit the latter to obtain 
the mastery over the former. When, therefore, we allow 
ourselves to give way to any disposition toward stim- 
ulants, we lose our heads far more rapidly and more 
completely thajj.ji^jjien, and became far more r eckle ss 




EVE'S GLOSSARY 



and heedless of consequences. And when we lose our 
heads we generally end by losing the retenue which 
is one of women's most potent charms. When we are 
struck by the rash and eccentric behavior of some pretty 
society women we may safely augur that it is through 
drink that they have lost their mental equilibrium, 
their common sense, and their powers of reasoning 
at the time. When their moral and mental facul- 
ties are obscured by stimulants they can no longer be 
held strictly accountable for their words or acts; and 
inasmuch as men are aware of this, they are apt, espe- 
cially when unscrupulous, to take advantage of the 
knowledge, to the detriment of the weaker sex. 

Rotten Row and Vanity Fair, the two promenades 
of Hyde Park which during the London season are 
thronged at certain hours with all the smartest element 
of society, have repeatedly during the past years been 
the scene of manifestations of drunkenness on the part 
of women belonging to the highest rank. 

In New York there is far less abuse of stimulants 
among the higher classes than in England, and the best 
safeguards against it are the cares consequent upon a 
family of children. The women who become a prey 
to the habit, and to all the evils in its train, are mostly 
those who have no domestic worries, and who find the 
time hang heavily upon their hands. They cannot be 




A FEW HINTS ON HYGIENE 61 



all the time visiting, shopping, or driving, and whenever 
they find themselves left to their own resources, the. 
strain relaxes, and they feel the need of some stimulant 
to revive them. This soon develops into the regular 
habit, which, especially in the case of our sex, proves 
almost incurable. It invariably leads to the most dis- 
astrous results, and few have any idea of the appalling 
number of wealthy Anglo-Saxon homes which are 
ruined/ thereby. As a general rule, I repeat it, it is the 
idle woman — the one who has nothing to occupy her 
attention and her mind — who falls a prey to the vice.v 
The woman who has the cares of a family and of a 
household upon her shoulders rarely finds time to in- 
dulge in this vice. Her body and mind are maintained 
in a state of healthy activity ; and having no leisure to 
brood over troubles that are sometimes real, but far 
more often imaginary, she does not feel the need of 
bracing herself by the use of stimulants. 

In order to be healthy and beautiful, women should 
make their habitual beverage water, with which a 
little fresh lemon juice has been mixed. They should 1 
eat plenty of fruit at all seasons. Oranges are espe- 
cially recommended, this fruit possessing, it appears, 
extraordinary virtues. The Marquise de Crequy, 
who died at the end of the last century at the age of 
ninety-eight, and who was then still a most attractive 






02 




: & c x* 



old ladv, with an apple-blossom complexion, an abun 
dance of snow-white silky hair, and all her teeth 
unimpaired, lived during the last forty years of her life 
almost exclusively on oranges. She was wont to eat 
dozen of them for her breakfast, and the same number 
for luncheon and dinner, accompanied each time by '<. 
few thin slices of rye-bread and a bowl of chicken broth 

Sobriety is one of the first conditions of health. Plenty 
of vegetables, chicken, eggs, milk, and fruit, ought to b 
the almost invariable diet of a prettv woman, — a diet 
from which fish, game, heavv butchers' meat, condi-j{ 
ments, pastrv, liquors, pepper, and vinegar, ought to b 
almost entirely excluded. A good plan is to begiri.' 
the dav bv drinking a large glass of orange juice upon 
awakening. It clears the liver of all impurities, re 
freshes the mouth, and gives one an appetite for break 
fast. Late hours are vers 7 injurious. A woman oughtf 
to have at least eight hours' sleep, and many being pre-U 
vented bv household cares from remaining in bed in^ 
the morning, midnight should alwavs find them asleep 
After a night spent in dancing, one ought always t 
make up for it bv sleeping for a few hours during 
following afternoon. 

Walking is the best of all exercises. Tennis, riding 
rowing, are also good, of course, but not equal to walk 
rhich promotes strength and suppleness in th 




A F 




E 6 



different parts of the body simultaneously. Tight 
corsets are extremely detrimental to health, and are 
often the cause of an ugly reddening of the nose, the 
heart being contracted by the objectionable whalebon< 
cuirass, and the blood forced to the face, to the detri- 
ment of the rest of the system. Another point t< 
which I especially desire to attract the attention of my\ 
readers, is the reprehensible practice of dyeing their 
hair when silver begins to sparkle among the dark 
or blonde tresses. It is not only unwholesome, but 
shows a great lack of taste and of tact. God does 
well all that He does, and white hairs are certainb 
given us to soften our countenances' when age begin* 
to harden our features. It is therefore a serious mis- 
take to attempt any interference on this score. Ii 
women who begin to have gray hair could be induced 
to see how much better they look with their silvere( 
tresses than with dyed, dead-looking locks, there would 1 
be far more attractive faces in our drawing-rooms than 
is usually the case. When wrinkles begin to mak< 
their appearance, and when the pink and white bloom] 
of youth has fled, the features are, as I have said above, 
very apt to become hard and angular, and nothing tones 
down so well the marks left by the merciless hand ol 
Time as do gray or white waves of hair prettily anc 
daintily arranged above the forehead. One of the pret-^ 








~e 5~ :""'"•" .:ci vr^irr. ever:' memrer :: :~e incier.: 
r.: nc'rle :"i~ . :: ].l~:r.:.—. :rer. : :::Srs^ej. in£ 
■•-.;- ■; :ie fisrl-.crive ziirk ::' :iei_- ;i:e, :: tie 
ouch of the Archangel Michael's finger. Evay 
1 1 :r.:rr.::er. : v ii ::;.-. •.:.- i :;;i: r.iti'i :: vrh::e 
lii irive the brow, and the old legend says that i 
ire £e M:r.:n:re~cr :: -.-"-: — :ie irir.ir.r^ ureirei 
vir.T ter.turiei 2;":. rezetvef : - • •= retttiriible si^r. :;:~ 



2 :: _:i ::' :ie hei ■ e->r — e^erger"; ~.zzt:. place: :r. 
XBWl ^V^ifi itfac bowed head in blessing, and that the privileged 

ismitted it to all his descendants after him. 
ction with the hyg :tr fer-irtrtte-t of this 

." trier.:::- tbi:. i> :ir 2.5 -*: tiler, ur.ierp:- 
:-:e:r.e£, — in: rr.:s: :el::2te 7r:men 2:e 





S^ 



A FEW HINTS ON HYGIENE 65 



pink. Gray savors too much of virtuous unostentation, 
and of other unpleasant things ; but pink is the color of 
youth and beauty, and of all things joyous. Very light 
and dainty combination underclothes, which are both 
elegant and comfortable, are now made of soft pink all- 
wool jersey, embroidered with pink silk. It certainly 
is absolutely necessary for women to adopt in our cold 
'climate something warmer than silk or batiste under- 
I clothing, and our innate coquetterie makes us reluctant 
to wear anything that does not look and feel chic. 
; We are only too happy to find that the ever-inventing 
French couturiers have solved the difficulty of being 
.both warmly and elegantly clad under our so fashion- 
able tailor-made dresses. Nowadays it is by no means 
unusual for a woman to discard all petticoats, dressing 
herself in a suit of " combinations," and wearing over 
these colored silk knickerbockers of enormous dimen- 
sions, — these, with her dress, forming all her garments. 
Satin breeches, made like the knickerbockers of a 
man's shooting suit, very wide and fully gathered into 
the waist, are in great demand in Paris and London. 
In some cases these knickerbockers are lined with 
flannel ; in others they are made about two yards 
wide; then again they are of surah frilled with lace, or 
of satin, buckled beneath the knee. Thinking over 
the details of these underclothes, one is tempted to 




recognize a strong measure of reason in their adoption :j 
they are certainly warmer than innumerable petticoats, 
they are infinitely more comfortable, and when frilled, 
with lace and tied with ribbons, they are just as decora- 
Itive. Combination garments, uniting chemise, petticoat, i 
and knickerbockers, have become wonderfully popular,] 
and are exceedingly pretty when made in accordeon-* 
plaited, light-colored surah, or of shot silk trimmed 
with lace. Tweed knickerbockers are considered quite 
the thing abroad, to wear with tailor-made walking, 
costumes, — a very wise precaution indeed, for nothing 
can be more revolting to gaze upon than a white 
petticoat that has been worn on a muddy day, and no^ 
amount of care can prevent its bedraggled flounces] 
from soiling the chaussure. A woman who wears! 
knickerbockers and gaiters under her skirt for walk-] 
ing, comes home in a trim condition very pleasant toj 
see, and the fatigue of holding up a train and several 
petticoats to keep them from dipping in the mud hav- 
ing been spared to her, she is generally in a charming I 
temper, a fact which enchants husbands and renders] 
them great advocates of the " knickerbocker craze." 

More and more as time passes, the ridiculous and 
[burdensome walking dresses of years gone by are* 
disappearing. In Paris, trains are now absolutely dis- 1 
carded for_streeUjyeai« doctors .having inaugurated 



A FEW HINTS ON HYGIENE 67 



veritable crusade against these microbe-collecting, 
slovenly-looking objects, which are more liable to 
spread contagious diseases from sweeping the unclean 
pavement, than anything else. 

It is singularly fortunate for the advocates of trains j 
that our sex does not derive its fashions of dress from 
Germany. Otherwise we might find grounds for alarm 
in the species of persecution against the wearing thereof 
which is now raging in Central Europe. The Supreme 
Sanitary Board of Hungary, which is the government 
department intrusted with the settlement of all questions! 
relating to public health, has issued a decree prohibiting 
the feminine portion of the population, under the penalty 
of a fine, from making use of trailing skirts in the ( 
streets. In Austria a similar law has been put into 
force, and is being applied with great stringency in a 
number of the provincial cities, especially at Meran, 
Salzburg, Ischl, and Prague. In Germany the govern- 
ment has until now refused to do anything in the 
question. But the matter has been taken up unoffi-' 
cially by the male population who in Berlin, Mayence, 
Cologne, Munich, Stuttgart, and other leading cities of 
the empire have organized clubs for the purpose of 
endeavoring to abolish the wearing of trains in the* 
streets. Each member has to swear, before he is 
admitted as a-meaaher, that he Jiiill boycott all 



68 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



who permit their skirts to trail in the public thorough- 
fares, and that he will refuse to accompany, escort, or 
even bow to any woman thus attired. It is scarcely 
necessary to add that Emperor William has pronounced 
himself in favor of the movement, and he loses no op- 
portunity of giving expression to his sentiments on the 
subject. A short time ago a couple of ladies belong- 
ing to the highest ranks of Berlin society were en- 
gaged in shaking from their trains the dirt and dust 
accumulated during their stroll in the Thiergarten. 
Their carriage was standing close by awaiting them. 
Suddenly they heard a mocking laugh behind them. 
It was the Emperor on horseback. Without tak- 
ing the trouble to salute in any way, he exclaimed 
in sneering, sarcastic tones : " It 's no use ; you can't 
get rid of the c dreck ' [translated muck] . You will 
have to cut them off," and then rode on with his 
aide-de-camp. 

The argument upon which the promoters of this 
anti-train crusade base the raison d'etre of the move- 
ment, is that women's trains by sweeping up and collect- 
ing the dust and dirt of the streets convey from one 
locality to another, and thus disseminate, the germs and 
bacilli of tuberculosis, of fevers, and in fact of every 
kind of contagious maladies. It is alleged that the trail- 
ing skirts carry infection from street to street and from 



A FEW HINTS ON HYGIENE 69 



house to house, so that pestilence literally stalks the 
land. 

It cannot be denied that there is a certain amount of 
sense and of reason in these arguments. There are no 
sufficient grounds, however, for the resuscitation at the 
end of the nineteenth century of the tyrannical sump- 
tuary laws of the mediaeval ages. The revival of 
these ancient statutes is not only an anachronism, but 
also a piece of intolerable despotism. I for one would 
never dream of dispensing with my train in the 
evening ; and I have not the slightest doubt that the 
majority of my sex are of the same way of thinking. 
The trouble in Central Europe appears to have origi- 
nated not so much in the actual wearing of trains as 
in the way of managing them. There are only two 
nations in the world whose women comprehend the 
delicate art of wearing a trailing skirt, namely, the 
French and the Americans. No Parisienne, and but 
few of the fair citoyennes of the United States, will 
ever be seen allowing their trains to drag in the dirt. 
They are far too dainty to be able to bear the idea of 
having all the filth and abominations of every kind 
dangling about their ankles and coming into contact 
with their hosiery. The bare thought of it is revolt- 
ing to them. They alone possess the true chic for 
raising the trains from the ground at the right moment, 



r 



and for carrying them in their hand in a manner that 
constitutes another powerful adjunct to their well-stocked 
(arsenal of coquetry. 

Somehow or other the average German, English, 
[Spanish, and Italian woman fails to grasp the delicacies 
'of the art of train-bearing, — if I may be permitted to 
style it thus, — and sooner than display her lack of 
>kill and her gaucherie, prefers to let her dress trail in 
:he dirt of the public thoroughfares. I shall never 
forget, for instance, meeting old Queen Isabella of 
(Spain, and the Duchess of Hiljar, her principal lady- 
fin-waiting, strolling, up the Avenue de Jena at Paris. 
The Queen, who is very stout, wore an immense 
.green silk dress, which spread out over at least half of 
>the pavement. The other half was taken up by the 
[equally voluminous dress of the duchess. It would be 
[impossible to describe the filthy state of the pavement. 
Drunken men, sick animals, and Heaven only knows 
r hat else, had left offensive evidences of their passage 
:here. Yet through it all serenely swept the skirts of 
!>the Queen and the duchess, cleansing the street — but 
at the expense of their dresses. The condition of the 
latter, on reaching the Palais de Castille, can be better 
imagined than portrayed. 

Against the train itself, when properly and skilfully 
landled, man should be the verv last to object ; for 



A 



7 1 



whenever he seeks to look the most majestic, when- 
ever he would appeal with the most striking emphasis 
to the imagination of his fellows, he dons a mantle 
with a train. What would an emperor or a king be on 
state occasions, if deprived of the royal train borne 
behind him by his chamberlain ? He would recall 
the tale of the fox, or of the monkey (I forget which), 
who had lost his train, — I mean his tail, which is, after 
all, very much the same thing ; for I cannot help 
thinking sometimes that our predilection for trains — a 
predilection which is by no means confined to our 
own sex — is attributable to the sense of caudality 
which we have inherited through mankind, from its 
Simian ancestors. We are constantly harking back 
to the irrecoverable tail. The unsatisfied longing un- 
doubtedly exists. We women endeavor to still it by 
wearing trains to our dresses, whereas man displays his 
yearning for caudal adornment by wearing tails to his 
coat. Who can deny the fact that a man in a short 
shell jacket reaching only down to his waist (they tried 
in vain to introduce them in the United States) con- 
veys an impression of semi-nudity which we are not 
conscious of in the presence of tailcoated humanity ? 
And what would a bridal dress be without its train of, 
white silk and filmy lace ! 

No, no ! the crusade against trains is in dan ge r of 



*r^ 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



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failing, since it seeks to suppress an inherited instinct, 
and I onlv mention its dangers out of conscientiousness, 
for I well know how impossible it would be to expect 
success to attend any such undertaking. Let men 
leave us our trains alone on the condition that we 
handle the latter properly, that we wear them only in 
the evening, and we in our turn will undertake to start 
no agitation in favor of amputating the tails of the 
masculine coat. 

I think I have described walking as being the exer- 
cise most conducive to physical health and beauty in 
woman. I came to this conclusion after considerable 
thought and discussion with several eminent physicians 
of my acquaintance. 

Tennis, although very exciting, is too violent, and 
tends to lengthen the arms, enlarge the hands, and to! 
make the shoulders uneven. Moreover, it is a form 
of sport of which one is apt to become so fond as in 
consequence to indulge therein to excess. Croquet 
does not really give any exercise worth speaking of, 
and may therefore be left out of the question altogether. 
The side-saddle, to which we are restricted when rid- 
ing on horseback, injures in the long run the hip, 
and sometimes, too, the spine. I deserve credit for 
my candid denunciation of the side-saddle, for riding 
has been my greatest passion since early childhood. 



'L 









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A FEW HINTS ON HYGIENE 

Women who have habitually ridden for years, usually 
have one hip higher than the other. The doctors 
whom I have consulted are unanimous in condemning 
cycling for women, as producing a weakness in the 
back ; and my own observations in this matter con- 
vince me that it seriously impairs any grace and ele- 
gance which they may possess. The question is 
perhaps, however, still an open one. Fencing, besides 
being dangerous for women, has the disadvantage of 
developing the right arm and shoulder to such an 
extent as to give one the appearance of being lopsided. 
Nor can golf, which has recently bejcome a favorite 
pastime of women, be regarded as destined to augment 
feminine grace; for, in order to drive a ball a long 
way, the club must be raised above the head and 
brought down to the ball with a sideways motion, 
twisting the body from the waist. Gymnastics, while 
healthy, tend to impair the beauty of the hands, and a.< 
woman with large and ugly hands is indeed to be pitied. 
Of baseball and cricket it is needless to speak ; for, 
although we have feminine cricket elevens and base-! 
ball nines, yet it is useless to advocate them as a 
popular form of exercise. None of us like to appear 
ridiculous, or to render ourselves ludicrous in the eyes 
of men, and no woman can play cricket or base- 
ball without exciting masculine laughter, either of an 







0^ 



• > 



indulgent or of a mocking character, for the very 
simple reason that, try as we may, we can never throw 
(the ball properly. Nature never intended that we jjj^jg 
^should. That is obvious ; for the very build of our 
igure prevents us from doing so, and the smallest and 
'most weakly of boys will invariably be able to throw 
straighter and more surely than the most athletic of 
jwomen. 

Walking, however, has everything to recommend 
it as a form of exercise for women, and it is an estab- 
lished fact that the women who do the most walking 
preserve their health, and, above all, their beauty andL 1 
elegance the longest. It does not present the dangers)' > 
that do some of the forms of exercise above men- ll 
tioned, nor does it undulv develop one portion of the 
■ body at the expense of the others; moreover, it has 
'the additional advantage of being cheap and within 
the means of every one, either rich or poor. It serves 
to maintain the internal organism of our anatomy in 
[order, and in natural consequence thereof preserves our 
complexion when it is worth preserving, and improves 
it when it is not. 

For some reason or other walking has never become 
[popular among the women of America. Indeed, no 
form of exercise ever really has, and they seem to be 
imbued with a certain sp ecie s o f Cre ole tendency 








A 



75 



towards physical indolence, — an indolence all the 
more striking and strange when contrasted with the 
brightness, the sparkle, and the activity of the mind of 
the average American woman. This disinclination on 
the part of the latter to adopt walking as a form ofj 
exercise is the more regrettable as the women of the' 
United States are distinguished among all other women 
of the world for the beauty and elegance of their walk. 
A graceful walk is very rare in Europe, and there are 
but few women who know how to cross from one side 
of a ballroom to the other without impairing by their, 
carriage the effect of any beauty which they may pos- 1 
sess. English women, although passionately fond of 
walking, — an English girl thinks nothing of tramping 
twelve or twenty miles a day on foot, — very rarely 
walk with elegance. Their movement is too harshly 
accentuated, their step too vigorous, and their action 
deficient in feminine grace. The German woman walks 
too heavily, and as a general rule substitutes slow clum- 
siness for the somewhat masculine vigor and energy 
of the Englishwoman's step. The French women, the 
Hungarian women, and the beautiful Poles can none of 
them be considered good or graceful walkers. Grace- 
ful they are, and supremely elegant in all their move- 
ments, but they do not walk. They trip and flutter 
and prance and stamp their dainty feet like the " piaff- 



BSSSmS: 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



ment" or "dishing" of some high-mettled horse, but 
they can't walk. Spaniards and Italians, especially those 
belonging to the lower classes, do walk very gracefully, 
and seem to glide — one might almost say hover — 
over the ground, without offending the eye by any 
angularity or accentuation in the movement of the 
limbs. Much of this elegance of carriage is attrib- 
utable to the habit of these women, when young, of 
carrying jars of water balanced on their heads. There 
is nothing that contributes so effectively to give a 
woman a perfect walk as to accustom her to balance 
a pitcher, or even a glass of water, upon her head. It 
forces her to hold her head erect, her back straight, 
with her bust fully developed, and to move without 
any jerkiness or angularity. Otherwise the water 
would be spilled over her. 

American women, who seem to have combined in 
their persons all the various graces, charms, and attrac- 
tions of the different races of Europe, are not in the 
habit of carrying water pitchers on their heads, but, 
nevertheless, walk as if they were accustomed to do 
so ; and one of the first things that strikes the return- 
ing tourist from Paris, London, and Berlin is the grace 
and elegance of the New York woman's walk. Un- 
like most of her foreign sisters, she always appears to 
advantage when walking, and were she to realize this, 



A FEW HINTS ON HYGIENE 77 



and to take more of this species of exercise, we should 
see fewer women inclined to embonpoint ; and alas ! 
there always comes a time of life for women when they 
become either too voluminous or too ethereal. 

Self-discipline, and capacity for taking pains in one's 
own behalf, and also in behalf of those who love us, are 
really, after all, the only reliable weapons for fighting old 
age, wrinkles, and their attending vexations of all sorts 
and kinds. Even a young girl making the most of her 
dazzling beaute du diable should keep before her mind the 
prospect of becoming, later on, sallow and shrivelled, or 
coarse and red-faced, and take measures to avoid this 
dismal possibility. A very ancient and wonderful French 
manual, written some time during the seventeenth cen- 
tury, asserts that linen bed sheets are pernicious to beauty, 
and recommends most urgently the use of chamois 
leather ones. Now, chamois leather has been used for 
many purposes, from a shoe to a card-case, but it is 
only lately that it has been once more called into 
requisition for sheets. The idea originated with a 
lady whose skin was of marvellous delicacy, and who 
had made a careful study of the book in question. 
Chamois leather sheets are now becoming quite popular, 
and women who use them travel about carrying with 
them their own sheets, smartly trimmed with colored 
ribbons. Naturally, only the very finest skins are 





selected for this purpose, and this new fad is rather! 
an expensive one, for the cleaning of these sheets is 
far more costly than were they of silk or batiste 
While on the subject of the laundrv, I mav as well* 
sav that as far as hygiene is concerned, the fashion in 
which our clothes are washed is perhaps one of the 
most important of all with regard to our health. 
Nearly all the leaders of society in Paris and London 
follow the example of the British roval family in hay- 
ing their linen laundered in the country instead of in, 
the city. Metropolitan laundries labor under heavy 
disadvantages with regard to drying and bleaching, dis- 
advantages resulting from the constant presence of dust 1 
and soot flakes peculiar to the atmosphere of all great 
cities. In order to avoid the discolorations that inevi- 
tably accrue to clothes spread out to dry in back yards 
or on roofs, in populous districts, the laundries are[ 
obliged to have recourse to drying by artificial heat 
and this, while drying linen with the desired complete- Ak y j 
ness, is lacking in the bleaching properties possessed by* 
sun and wind. Articles thus dried in a chest fille 
with hot air, or before a coal fire, acquire a dull hue 
which, while relatively unimportant in connection with 
sheets and counterpanes, pillow-cases and towe.s. i 
decidedly unfavorable to the appearance of shirt fronts, 




ir.s. 



11 such dec c :;.-.■-■• 




A FE 



HINTS TIN HYGI 




linen and napery, which, to insure the wished-for effect 
upon the eye of the spectator, should be whiter than 
the swan's plumage or the ermine's fur. What is of 

JjJ far greater importance, is that linen washed in cities 
and dried in the above way, is inevitably impregnated! 
with countless microbes that float in the air of every! 
big town, and the risk is great that skin diseases or 
other contagious maladies will be brought into our 

• J houses by these contaminated articles of wear. 








THE HAND AND THE FOOT 

A HANDSOME hand is, according to general 
belief, the sign of a long line of ancestors and 
of a thoroughly aristocratic descent. This is partly 
true, but many unaristocratic people are endowed with 
beautiful hands, and moreover, what inheritance has 
not given, care and attention can easily acquire. In- 
deed, it is always possible to beautify the shape and 
complexion of the hand, be either ever so indifferent or 
rough. The hand cannot be pretty, however shapely 
it may be by nature, if the nails are in any way neg- 
lected. The nail has an expression, not to say an 
eloquence, of its own ; for the social status of man or 
woman can easily be detected by the fashion in which 
it is shaped or cut and cared for. A broad, flat nail, 
cut very short and encroached upon by the skin, de- 
notes a vulgar nature ; while the true filbert nail, cut to 
follow the shape of the end of the finger, slightly 
pointed and daintily polished, gives the entire hand an 
aristocratic and refined appearance. Few people know 
how to take proper care of their nails without the 





assistance of the manicure ; and yet with a small 
amount of trouble even the ugliest nails can in a short 
time become beautiful. Of course it is difficult to 
alter the color and shape thereof, but with some atten- 
tion they may be considerably improved. To begin 
with, the hands should always be washed in very hot 
water, or, better, in warm oatmeal water. Failing this, 
a few drops of tincture of benzoin in the water add 
greatly to the whiteness and softness of the skin, and 
also conduce to the beautifying of the nails. When 
the hands are thoroughly clean, rinse them in clear, 
warm water into which a teaspoonful of almond meal 
has been thrown. Dry the hands on a soft towel and 
immediately rub them with the following mixture : — 

One part pure glycerine, one part lemon juice, one part 
rose-water. 

This can be prepared either for immediate use, o 
kept in a bottle for three or four days at a time. 
Twice a week the nails should be rubbed with this 
varnish : — 

Half an ounce pistachio oil, 32 grains table salt, 33 grains 
powdered resin, 33 grains ground alum, 80 grains melted white 
wax, 2 grains fine carmine. 

These ingredients should be thoroughly mixed over 
a spirit lamp, made into a kind of pomatum, and pre-| 






served in a small glass or porcelain jar. It should be| 
applied to the nail by a tiny wad of medicated cotton 
and allowed to remain for half an hour. The thin 
membrane at the root of the nail should then be care-^ 
fully pushed back with the round end of an ivory nail 
y file, and the little "idle skins " that often grow at the 
root of the nail cut away with a pair of very sharp 
scissors. When this is done, the nail should be pol- 
ished with the so-called diamond powder, a small 
quantity of which is put on a chamois-skin nail pol- 
isher. By doing this twice a week, the roughest and 
most ungainly looking hands and nails can be trans- 
formed into things of beauty. When the hands have 
been permitted to become chapped, bathe them every 
night before going to bed in a very clear pulp made of 
linseed meal and bitter almond oil ; rinse them in tinc- 
ture of benzoin, diluted with sixteen parts of hot water, 
dry them well, and powder thoroughly with ordinary 7 
violet powder. All this, as my fair readers will see, 
eans but very little trouble in order to obtain the 
agreeable possession of a " thoroughbred " hand. 

Strangely enough, there is no article of dress which 

is more universally worn, and yet to which less atten- 

ion is given, than the glove. People who would hold 

p their hands in horror at the bare idea of donning 

clothes orboots which have not be en es peci ally m ad 



'^C^> 







>*• 




THE HAND ANDTHE FO 



83 



for them, show no such antipathy to ready-made 
loves, and consider it perfectly natural to imprison 
their hands in gloves that have neither been measured, 
cut, nor sewn for them. Now, if there is one portion 
of the human body which, more than any other, re- 
quires the freedom conferred by a perfectly fitting 

^envelope, it is the hand, which should always remain 
unhampered and unimpeded in all its movements. 
People fret and fume at the slightest fault in the fit of 
a dress or of their shoes, but they will submit with- 
out a murmur to the discomfort caused by wearing 
gloves the fingers of which are either too long or too 
short, and which do not permit free play to the mus- 
cular action of the hand. Ready-made gloves never 
fit, and if there are a few exceptions, they merely 
suffice to emphasize the rule. In the first place, the 
right-hand glove and the left-hand glove of a ready- 
made pair are always made of identically the same size, 
while there is invariably a marked difference in size 
between a person's right hand and the left. There is' 
always one hand that is half a size larger than the 
other. This is due to the fact that one hand is more 

^frequently used than the other, and therefore more 
developed as regards both muscle and bone. The, 
manufacturers and venders of ready-made gloves do not' 
seejn to take this int-n consideration, and the result is 



8 4 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



that when a person buys a pair of gloves of the size 
suited to the right hand, it will be found that the left- 
hand glove is too large 5 whereas, if the gloves are 
purchased according to the size of the left hand, the 
right-hand glove will be too tight to be comfortable, 
if, in fact, it can be got upon the hand at all. An- 
other reason why ready-made gloves never fit is to be 
found in the fact that there are very few persons who 
have fingers, and especially thumbs, of the same length 
as those of their fellow-creatures. Consequently, the 
thumbs of ready-made gloves are either too short or 
too long, and in the former event the glove invariably 
splits or prevents the free and unhampered use of the 
thumb. 

Most of the leaders of society in Europe have realized 
this absence of common sense with regard to the pur- 
chase of ready-made gloves, and accordingly have their 
gloves made for them in the same manner as their clothes 
and shoes. Even those who have their gloves made 
for them experience great difficulty in securing a perfect 
fit, and the cutters of the great glove houses in France 
and at Brussels can earn higher wages than the cutters 
of the most fashionable tailors in London and New 
York. So difficult is this art of cutting gloves that 
most of the principal cutters are known to the trade by 
name and by fame, and the peculiar knives that they 



THE HAND AND THE FOOT 85 



use in their business are so highly prized that they are 
handed down from generation to generation, like 
heirlooms. 

The glove ought always to be loose, for nothing 
disfigures the hand as does a tight glove, which brings 
a surplus of blood to the imprisoned member, making 
it red, besides cramping and deforming the fingers. 

The beauty of the hand is, of course, enhanced 

when it is attached to a slender wrist and a rounded, 

well-developed arm. The slender wrist is a gift of 

Nature, and cannot be acquired ; but a thin arm can 

easily be made to take on flesh and shapeliness by 

exercise and friction continued daily. Rub, rub, rub ; 

nd practise with tiny dumb-bells until you are nearly 

ired. Do with your arms what dancers do with their 

[legs, — exercise them in every way ; that and friction 

ill soon increase their size and give beauty to their 

shape. If you cannot make them as perfect as those 

of the Venus de Milo before she lost them, you can at 

least improve them and make them less ugly, which is 

something not to be disdained. 

Let me above all caution my readers against ever 
permitting their nails to grow too long. This fad is 
quite enough to mar the beauty of the prettiest hand 
on earth. In many widely separated portions of the 
world it is customary for the man who does not live 






by manual labor to emphasize this fact by allowing his 
finger nails to grow to an extravagant and uncomfortable 
length. This repulsive custom long since found its 
wav in a modified form into America, whence the 
science of u manicurism " was comparativly recently 
introduced into Europe. I imagine, however, that the 
average civilized being is still healthy-minded enough 
into be able to resist the temptations of the delicate mani- R. 
cure cases that may be seen exposed for sale at the 
present time in many of our shop windows. Clean 
t^Jand well-trimmed nails are certainly desirable, but J£pf|§^ 
one may well shudder at the array of knives and/jo 
scissors, brushes and polishers, which it seems are" 
: :ome people thought necessary in order to attain 
:h:s end. 

The excess in the opposite direction, which unfortu- 
nately is also by no means uncommon, is entire disre- 
gard as to the proper conduct of the nails. Worst of 
all comes the vicious habit of biting the nails instead of 
>^?^ cutting them. This is popularlv supposed, when 
carried to excess, to be a sign of ill-temper. It is, 
however, also sometimes caused by nervousness, for I 
remember hearing of an amateur sculler of the first 
rank whose temper was unexceptionable, but who, 
before an important race, invariablv used to bite his nails 
so persistentlv that he failed to attain the chammonshi 










THE HAND AND THE FOOT 87 



honors which otherwise would undoubtedly have been 
his. It is also commonly supposed that dirty ringer nails 
indicate carelessness as to the good opinion of friends 
and associates, and a recklessness in the matter of i 
making a good impression upon strangers. Dirty nails i 
are also said to be a common attribute of genius, though 
it is scarcely needful to add that their possession does 
not necessarily imply anything of the kind, but is an 
unmistakable sign of low-breeding, and of an utter dis- 
regard to the feelings of those about us. 

The beauty of the foot, no less than of the hand,! 
jis necessary to complete the perfection of womanly 
(loveliness. In Europe it is supposed that the tiny foot 
is the hall-mark of race, if only it be aristocratically 
shaped. The latter condition is absolutely essential, 1 
and it is a finer stamp of high-breeding to have a foot 
that is delicately formed and arched, even if it be some- 
what long, than to have one that is short and flat. It 
is related that in olden times Cleopatra was famous for 
her small foot, and in more modern times Ninon de 
l'Enclos and Mme. de Pompadour, whose two feet 
Louis XV. could hold in one hand, are cited as remark- 
table for the beauty of their extremities. To judge by 
Canova's statue, Princess Borghese Bonaparte had a 
[beautiful foot. Madame Tallien was wont to sit with' 
her naked feetadorned with rinss- while the beauliful 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



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Duchesse de Dino could put her foot, with her boot on, 
into any other woman's chaussure. 

In order to preserve the slimness of the foot, or, at 
any rate, not to augment its width when it is naturally 
somewhat wide, one must never walk barefoot, even on 
a carpet, or wear slippers devoid of heels. Upon com- 
ing in from a walk or drive, the out-door foot-gear 
should alwavs be exchanged for a lighter chaussure, 
which affords rest to the foot. Never go to bed with 
cold feet j in the winter the use of a hot-water bottle 
is highly commendable, or, if preferred, a pair of lambs- 
wool socks will answer the same purpose. An excellent 
wash to strengthen delicate feet is prepared in the 
following fashion : — 

Boil in five quarts of water, for twenty minutes, one ounce of I 
dried mint leaves, one ounce sage leaves, three ounces Angelica, 
one pound of juniper berries, and two pounds rosemary leaves. 

Keep the feet in this aromatic bath for half an hour 
before going to bed. 

Tight shoes, like tight gloves, should never be worn. 
Order them always one size longer than vour foot, and 
vou will never suffer from corns, bunions, blisters, etc. 
This measure of prudence does not bv any means make 
the foot look larger. On the contrarv, it gives it an 
elegant appearance ; for nothing is uglier and more 



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THE HAND AND THE FOOT 89 



vulgar than a short, stumpy, compressed foot, which 
involuntarily reminds one of a cow's hoof. 

The daintiest foot-wear is made in Paris. It is 
thence that the Empress of Japan, whose extremities 
are of marvellous delicacy and beauty of shape, obtains 
all her boots, shoes, and slippers. 

A pretty foot is one of woman's greatest attractions, 
t and it is an art to know how to display it to advantage 
without showing too plainly that one is desirous of 
attracting attention thereto. 

Few women in our days know how to get into or 
out of a carriage prettily and gracefully. In order to 
accomplish this apparently simple but in truth quite 
difficult feat, the hosiery worn by the fair one must be 
just right, the silken web fitting snugly and without 
wrinkles around the ankle, and the shoe must be trim 
and pretty. When alighting, grasp the dress lightly at 
about the knee, stand steadily on the right foot, point 
the left foot sharply downwards, bend the right knee, let- 
ting the weight of the body steadily down toward the street 
level, the prettily pointed foot and the trim ankle being 
daintily in evidence. Directly the left toe touches the 
ground, let it take the weight of the body with graceful 
springiness. All the beauty of the movement depends 
on the steady lowering of the body on the right foot 
and the pretty pointing of the left. If there is need to 





90 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



steady one's self, one may grasp the inside of the 
carriage with the hand which is not holding the dress. 
When getting into a carriage, the left foot should be 
lightly placed on the step, and by the aid of the right 1 
hand grasping the side of the vehicle, the body should 
be swung upward without apparent effort. As is to 
be seen too often, the usual way of alighting from 1 
a carriage is to extend the foot horizontally, coming 
down flat upon it, while the grip on the carriage side 
is so tight that the whole body is swung around awk-i 
wardly, the entire movement being so stiff and stilted 
as to detract greatly from the exhibition of pretty feet. 
There is really no time when a woman's elegant bear- 
ing of herself may be more charmingly shown, and! 
more legitimately so, than when she is alighting in the 
full view of the passers-by. 

There is in London an eccentric old gentlemanl 
whose delight is the sight of a pretty foot. If he sees 
one, no matter whether the owner be old or young, 
handsome or ugly, poor or rich, clad in purple or inl 
rags, he follows it so long as it may continue to trip, 
tread, or drag itself along. And if, perchance, its 
chaussure is down in the sole, and its owner longingly, 
lingers in front of a shoe store, then this eccentric old' 
gentleman comes forward and humbly asks permission 1 
to prese nt-th e e xtrem ity wi th, a r.nvprino- wO&tJuuof 




THE F 



9 1 , 



beauty. Sometimes the offer is rejected, sometimes 
it is accepted. The boots or shoes are then duly tried 
on, bought, and paid for. And our old friend considers 
himself amply rewarded by being allowed to be present 
at the trying on. He desires no further acknowledg- 
ment of his charity, — for charity it frequently is, — but' 
with a final bow to the newly-shod foot he retires, and 
is not seen again until another little foot tempts him 
to repeat the scene. 

Few things, in fact, fascinate men so much as a 
pretty foot, — a foot small proportionately to the per-J 
son, well arched, and with pretty little, toes resembling' 
peas in a shell. 

Respecting pretty feet, opinion is universal. There- 
may be a difference of opinion on noses, mouths, eyes, 
skin, figure, etc., but there is no diversity of opinion 
respecting the foot, which must be small and arched to 
be pretty, — not small like the Chinese foot, which is 
a self-imposed deformity, nor cramped by tight shoes, 
which throw one toe over the other and cover them' 
with corns, but small and perfectly formed in its natural, 
unshod state. Spanish women have naturally pretty 
feet, also Turkish and Polish women. The French- 
woman's foot is not naturally smaller nor prettier than 
that of the Englishwoman, but her shoes are of the 
softest kid, and are, gut to perfectipiL They fit daialih 




<c^M>SW^i: 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




and comfortably, and do all they can not to be felt, 
heard, or seen. 

Rubbing the soles of the foot with lemon will soften 
and ease them after walking. The more the feet are 
bathed and rubbed, the smaller they will remain. 
Crushed elder leaves under the feet, it is said, will 
prevent fatigue when walking. In warm weather, 
after the ordinary bath, powder the feet with the fol- 
lowing mixture : — 

Powder of lycopodium, 150 grains; powdered alum, 50 grains; 
tannin, 25 grains. 

This will prevent perspiration, and also keep the feet 
from swelling. 

The nails of the toes should be cut square and be 
polished like the finger nails. Pedicures were in great 
request in ancient Rome, when shoes were unknown. 
They visited Roman ladies every morning to trim their 
feet for the day. Some families, indeed, kept their 
own private pedicures, not only for their own use, but 
for that of their guests. 

One of the most distressing of ailments to which the 
human foot is subjected is an ingrowing nail. It was 
at one time thought that shoes were the cause of the 
trouble ; but as cases were observed in persons who 
went barefoot or were confined to bed, it became 




THE HAND AND THE FOOT 



necessary to admit that shoes were only a secondary] 
agent in the question. The chief factor is some slight 
traumatism, combined with a habitual state of neglect,^ 
which enables the ordinary pus microbes to multiply 
along the side of the nail. In some instances it is aj 
contusion of the big toe. Some one stepped on it, thel 
patient paid no attention to it at first, but in trimming 
the nail a few days later a drop of pus was found on 
the edge, and this was the commencement of the 
trouble. In other cases the origin of the disorder was] 
a slight wound made while cutting the nail. 

I am inclined to believe the cause generally the, 
action of slight wounds combined with uncleanness, and] 
therefore think that the greatest cleanliness should al-| 
ways be observed as a means of prevention. When the' 
complaint occurs it can often be cured by carbolic) 
lotions and antiseptic dressings. 

I may add here that if there is one thing more thai 
any other upon which the American woman is entitled^ 
to pride herself it is her foot. Proportionately small toy 
the person, well arched, and with pretty little pink-1 
nailed toes, it fully matches in shapeliness the perfectly] 
formed feet of the Spaniards, the Poles, the Russians, 
and the French, and is immeasurably superior to every- 
thing of the kind in England, Germany, Scandinavia, 
and Italy. This being the case, it has always surprised 



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me that thev conceal, as if it were something hideous 
and improper, ankles and feet. la France, Great 
Britain, at San Sebastian in Spain, on the Italian sea- 
shore, on the coasts of Germany, Scandinavia, Holland, 
land Belgium, even the most prudish women, as well as 
'those who have the greatest pretensions to elegance, in- 
variably bathe in the sea in costumes that leave the 
[limbs bare from the knee downwards. No one evci 
(dreams of donning a pair of stockings for the occasion, 
although there are manv, especially in the northern 
(portions of Europe, who might do so with advantage; 
and were a woman to appear on the beach of Trouvillej 
thus arrayed, she would immediately be set down as 
afflicted with some malady of the skin. In the shrimp- 1 
ing and prawning parties which are all the vogue from] 
Deauville and Dieppe all along the northern coast or 
Europe to the German seaside resort of Norderney, thei 
ladies, both young and old, show no hesitation in re- 
m ring their shoes and stockings and baring their legs to 
[the knee, in order to tramp along in the water, exploring 
the various corners and crevices of the rocks in search of I 
the tmv shellfish. It is considered perfectly natural and 
proper \ there is not the slightest suspicion of indecency 
[and no one ever dreams of making any objection. 
In the United States, however, where there are to tx 



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95 





forced to conceal them, and were any of them to venture 
on the beach at any of the popular seaside resorts with 
limbs bare from the knee downwards, an outcry would 
be raised on the score of injured morality. People with 
whom I have recently been discussing the subject claim 
that the strict ideas which prevail in America with 
regard to bare ankles and feet are a remnant of the old 
sumptuary laws and notions of our puritanical fore- 
fathers. That is all very well ; but what, if you please, 
|& would these passengers of the " Mayflower " have said 
to the present style of decolletage ? Surely there is 
less impropriety in displaying the feet and the legs 
as far as the knee, than in furnishing such a generous 
and liberal exhibition as is to be seen in the boxes on 
any good night of the New York opera season. 

A shapely ankle is quite as attractive in its way as 
well-formed shoulders, and there is more grace in a 
pretty foot, untrammelled by any covering, than in a 
bare neck, and, I may add, back. Nor is there grace 
only in a woman's foot ; there is expression as well. 
There is the capricious foot, the coquettish foot, the 
aristocratic foot, the phlegmatic foot, the nervous foot, 
the plebeian foot, the short-tempered foot, and the saucy 
foot. 

A woman's character, nay, even her most secret 
thoughts, may often be read by the movement ofthe 



9 6 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




toes, — far more so than by the action of the hands. 
For, whereas we have almost entire control over the 
play and muscular movement of the hands, we have 
but little mastery over the motion of our toes. Men 
know this, or, to speak more correctly, used to know 
this in olden times, and their anxiety to be " at our 
feet " may be ascribed, in a certain measure, to their 
hope that we might be betrayed into giving unawares 
some pedal indication of the real character of our 
sentiments toward them. The phrase u at our feet " is 
evidently one which dates from ancient times, when 
women wore neither shoes nor stockings, but merely 
dainty thin sandals. There was some reason for being 
at our feet then ; to-dav there is none. Of course I am 
perfectly aware that it is impossible for us to revert to 
sandals, and to dispense with hosiery, but women with 
pretty feet should at least be permitted the privilege of 
doffing shoes and stockings when bathing in the sea. 




THE HAIR AND 



97 



CHAPTER VI 

THE HAIR, EYEBROWS, AND EYELASHES 

IS there a woman in existence who is not proud of 
her hair when it is long, thick, and silky, or one 
who does not everlastingly break the Tenth Command- 
ment — if she has not been well endowed by nature 
in that respect — when she sees the more abundant and 
luxuriant tresses of other women ? The fact is that a 
fine head of hair is one of the most enviable charms of 
woman, and that no effort should appear to her too 
wearisome or too painful to acquire or to preserve it. 
There is also a great deal to be said about the way in 
which the hair is dressed, not merely on account of the 
change which different coiffures affect in the physi-i 
ognomy, but also because, when it is always arranged 
in the same fashion, the scalp becomes tired and the 
hair itself thinned thereby. 

It is a great error to believe that cutting short the hain 
of little girls improves its growth and thickness later on. 
Far from this being the case, the frequent cutting of 
the hair renders its texture coarse, and diminishes its 
brilliancy. Moreover, the fact that men suffer far more 





THE HAIR AND EYEBROWS 



99, 



can easily be imparted to it by applying a mixture of 
honey and rhubarb stalks in equal parts by weight, in 
white wine, to be used when cold. This is by no means 
a hair-dye, but simply a perfectly harmless " wash," 
which improves the natural color of blonde tresses. 
Dyes are always dangerous, in spite of what may I 
be said to the contrary. They bring on headaches, 
even when they cause no further harm, and should be 
strictly tabooed by every person careful of his or her 
health. 

While on the subject of headaches — perhaps one of/ 
the commonest maladies that afflict our sex — I may' 
mention a very efficacious remedy which, especially in 
the case of nervous headaches, really works wonders.. 
Some freshly scraped horseradish is the simple nostrum, 
and it must be held in the hand a minute or so until it 
is quite warm, and then sniffed at with energy. This 
requires courage, for the sensation is as if the pun- 
gent odor passed right through the brain; but it 
seems to drive the pain before it, and the conse-j 
quent relief makes it worth while to endure the 
momentary pang. 

In autumn, as a general rule, human hair has a 
way of falling off profusely, and in some instances] 
this " shedding " — I don't well know how otherwise! 
t o., d escribe : * « ii *p abundant— that, alth. r>1| gh_-rt_^ 



100 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



known that spring will bring with it a new crop of 
fine silken tresses, yet a kind of panic is created lest 
the temporary impoverishment should become perma- 
nent. In such cases an energetic medication is to be 
recommended, the following preparations being excellent 
for their individual uses : — 



Wash to promote the Growth of the New Crop 
of Hair. 




Rose water, 
Rosemarin brandy, 
Essence of bitter almonds, 
Liquor ammonia, 
Essence of mace, 
White castor oil, 



4 ounces. 

2 « 

ioo drops. 

ioo " 

30 " 

100 " 



The essences should be first mixed together with the 
castor oil, the brandy and ammonia then being added, 
and lastly the rose water being added a little at a time, 
and with constant stirring. Use two soupspoonfuls of 
this to a basin of warm water twice a week. 



Pomatum to prevent the Hair from falling. 

White vaseline, 3 ounces. 

Cold drawn castor oil, 1 ounce. 

Gallic acid, 20 grains. 

Essence of lavender, 1 o drops. 




THE HAIR AND EYEBROWS 101 

The best remedy for the cure of dandruff is the 
unguent known under the name of the " Dupuytren 
Recipe " : — 



Take of 




Beef marrow, 


ii ounces. 


Acetate of lead, 


60 grains. 


Black balsam of Peru, 


300 " 


Rectified alcohol, 


2 fluid ounces. 


Cantharide powder, 


25 grains. 


Essence of clover, 


10 drops. 


Essence of cinnamon, 


10 " 



Mix thoroughly and apply to the scalp every 
morning, for a week at a time, with a bit of soft rag. 
The treatment should then be interrupted for a week, 
and taken up again until the dandruff has entirely 
disappeared. 

It is very important, in order to prevent the hair 
from falling off, to protect the head from undue heat. 
Hats should always be light, and in summer, if possible, 
perforated, when not made of open-work straw. At 
night the hair should be loosely braided, and in case of 
illness the braids should always be carefully tied at the 
ends, so as to avoid their becoming entangled. 

Never use a celluloid or horn comb. The material 
of this article of a lady's toilet is very important, and 




102 




should invariably be tortoise-shell, ivory, or mother-of- 
pearl, — an innovation now very much favored by Pari- 
' siennes. The disgusting wire hair-pins of bygone days 
>are now entirely discarded and universally replaced by 
| shell or amber "forks," or simply by a head comb. 
This will hold the entire coiffure in the shape so much 
in vogue in Paris, namely, the butt restauration, or, 
tto make myself better understood, the loose coil in the 
iform of the figure eight brought into fashion under 
the French Restoration, and revived last year by French 
[elegantes. 

It is, of course, exceedingly difficult to advise any! 
woman as to the way in which she ought to dress her 
hair, for the style that suits one species of beauty does 
not necessarily suit another. Fashion should have very 
little influence in this matter, and the cast of features 
'should be studied with a view to choosing a befitting | 
coiffure. Heavy dark hair accompanying classical fea- 
tures is naturally treated far differently from fluffy fair 
[locks crowning a piquant physiognomy. The latter 
should, as much as possible, be waved or curled, and 
allowed to fall over the forehead j while the former 
(always looks to better advantage when disposed in plain 
(braids or severe smooth coils at the back, and raised 
[above the brow, antique fashion. 

anv_rate, curlinp- irons should be banis hed froi 






THE 



A 



A 



103 



the dressing-room of every woman careful of her hair ; 
for there is nothing more liable to spoil its texture than 
their use, as the heat renders the hair dull, brittle, and 
rusty. The only harmless means of curling straight 
hair is to wet it at night with rectified alcohol, and then 
to roll it on soft lead wires which have been previously 
covered with glove-skin. These curlers are called 
bigoudis, and may be found already prepared at every 
fashionable hairdresser's. It is much easier, however, 
to wash the fringe or u bang " vigorously with tincture 
of green soap and water, and after rinsing it thoroughly 
to ruffle it while still wet, allowing it to dry in this 
rumpled condition. A few light strokes of the comb 
will then produce a very becoming and artistic-looking 
tangle. 

False hair is now very little worn, and it is only 
when downright baldness must be concealed — fortu- 
nately a very rare occurrence with our sex — that one 
should invest in so disagreeable an adjunct of the toilet. 
Of course, however, when after an illness, or in 
extreme old age, the hair has fallen to such a degree 
as to leave bare places on the scalp, it is necessary 
to employ some kind of wig or postiche ; but false 
tresses of any description should be bought from first- 
rate coiffeurs only, who will make a point of furnishing 
one with articles beyond repr oach, taken frorrjL-fche 





104 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



scalps of living beings, — never from corpses, — and 
carefully prepared. 

With evening dress French ladies are beginning to 
wear their hair powdered. This is an excellent idea, 
for not only is powder very good for the hair, but the 
effect is extremely becoming to both old and young. 
Patches naturally accompany powder, and certainly give 
much piquancy to the countenance. It is not gener- 
ally known that these little velvety, artificial beauty- 
spots, looking so frivolous and tantalizing, were once 
a symbol of religion. It is said that patches originated 
with the Saxon Queen Etheldra, who was canonized 
after her death, which took place at the end of the 
seventh century. 

This queen, who had led a life of great dissipation, 
was touched by grace at the death of her second hus- 
band, to whom she was much attached, and seeing the 
folly of her ways, she forsook the world and its snares 
to enter a convent, where she was chosen to be the 
abbess. She gave herself up forthwith to the most 
severe practice of religion, — and in those days this 
meant a great neglect of soap and water. This, to- 
gether with long fasting, numerous penances, flagella- 
tions, and other voluntary hardships, caused her pretty 
face to break out in pimples and blotches. She cov- 
ered these disfiguring spots with patches, and all her 





THE HAIR AND EYEBROWS 105 



followers, although they did not sport pimples them- 
selves, adopted the patches without them, as being the 
evidences of a really religious life. 

Hair that is naturally greasy should be washed at 
least once a week with a gallon of warm water wherein 
half an ounce of bicarbonate of soda has been dis- 
solved j while for naturally dry hair an occasional appli- 
cation of French u brilliantine " is commendable, as it 
nourishes the roots and promotes the growth of the 
hair. Here is the authentic recipe of the henna tinc- 
ture used by Oriental women to dye their hair in the 
beautiful shades beloved by Titian. . Not that I ap- 
prove of a woman changing the hue of her tresses, but 
'as everybody may not be of the same opinion, I trust 
that this harem secret, which was imparted to me 
during one of my visits to the far East, may prove 
serviceable to such of my fair sisters as dare use such 
strong ingredients. 

Wash the hair with strong ammonia and water, and 
while it is drying prepare the following mixture : — 

Dissolve a quarter-pound of henna powder in a quantity of hot 
water sufficient to make a paste, add one tablespoonful of vinegar, 
one tablespoonful of white honey, and one of powdered rhubarb. 

Apply this paste to the hair very carefully and thor- 
oughly from the roots to the ends, rolling the hair then 




in strands, which are each separately pinned to the head. 

When this is done cover the entire mass of hair with 

the remainder of the paste and allow it to stay thus 

for two hours. When this time has elapsed the paste 

ill have hardened in drying, and should be washed 

off in six consecutive changes of hot water made 

alkaline by the addition of a little washing soda. The 

air must be dried in the sun so that it may acquire the 

rue golden shine. Let me warn my readers to smear 

their hands well, before beginning the operation, with cold 

cream or vaseline; for otherwise it would be extremely 

difficult to rid them of the stains left by the henna. 

Proper care of the eyebrows and eyelashes is gen- 
erally neglected, — a fact much to be deplored, as nothing 
adds to the beauty of the human face as do well-trained 
and finely-pencilled eyebrows and long silky eyelashes. 
£3Too heavy eyebrows give a harsh and vulgar expres-| 
sion to the countenance, while an absence of eyelashes 
and eyebrows constitutes an absolute blemish to even 
the prettiest face. Therefore, when the eyebrows are 
too thick they should be thinned out, and, so to speak, 
regularized by uprooting the surplus hairs with a tiny 
pair of pincers. This process is somewhat painful, but 
is well rewarded by the remarkable improvement it 
generally produces on the appearance. 

When ih_e evehrows and Jashes are too _thin, the] 








Ar^D 


TYEB 



R 



107 



following method should be adopted. Wash the eye- 
brows and lashes with warm water before going to bed, 
[and apply with a soft, narrow brush some pure olive 
oil. They should be gently rubbed three times a day 
with an infusion of white wine and mint leaves. 

A very safe tincture for eyelashes and eyebrows is] 
prepared thus : — 

Red claret, 12 fluid ounces. 

Coarse gray salt, 60 grains. 
Sulphate of iron, 112 " 

Boil for five minutes in a small enamelled saucepan,! 
I then add 

Oxide of copper, 60 grains. 

Boil two minutes longer, and finally add 



Gall-nut, 
Fine white salt, 



112 grams. 
60 " 



Strain, and pour into a small stone bottle. Apply to 
the eyebrows and lashes very carefully with a pointed 
camel's-hair brush, avoiding touching the skin, and 
(after a quarter of an hour wash with warm water and 
idry off by means of a hot, soft towel. 

Rectified alcohol rubbed into the eyebrows twice a 
[day with the tip of the finger promotes their growth 
[and gives the m a fine lustre. A gr eat many women 



io8 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



use " kohl " to enhance the lustre of their eyes. Now 
kohl in itself is not a harmful substance, but still I 
cannot recommend it to my readers excepting when 
they are about to appear on the scene of some amateur 
theatre; for, as I remarked in the chapter concerning 
cosmetics, I do not approve of any kind of paint for 
the face. Nevertheless, kohl is in great demand both 
in Europe and in the Orient for the purpose of giving 
to the eyes a soft expression and a languishing look, 
which our modern dames are proud to possess. The 
seductiveness of kohl has descended from age to age, 
and people to people, from the days of Cleopatra, who 
sought with her cosmetics and perfumes to beguile 
Mark Antonv on the banks of the Cvdnus. This 
preparation of antimony, applied by the Egyptians to 
this day to blacken the edges of the eyelids, both above 
and below the eve, necessitates the use of a small 
probe of wood, ivory, or silver, tapering towards the 
end, but blunt. This implement is moistened some- | 
times with rose water, then dipped in the powder and 
drawn along the edges of the eyelids. Something: of 

O O J — 

the same character, stibium, also prepared from anti- 
mony, was used similarly bv the luxurious Babylonians, 
and thev were accustomed also to rub the skin with 
pumice-stone, to make it smooth. The Greeks dark- 
ened the eyebrows as well as the evelids with Egyptian 






\\\\ 




THE HAIR AND EYEBROWS 109 

kohl, and the Romans had a great variety of cosmetics. 
Ovid, the poet of love, in a book treating upon this 
subject, a fragment of which has come down to us, 
has given a recipe for the complexion which was 
composed of barley and bean flour, eggs, hartshorn,: 
ground narcissus bulbs, gum, Tuscan seed, and honey. 
" Every woman who spreads this paste upon her face 
will render it smoother and more brilliant than her 
mirror," he says. In the far East the eyelids are dark- 
ened with soorma, and the eyelashes with kajul, used in 
the same way as kohl. The soorma is placed inside the 
lids, and, according to tradition, when the Almighty 
commanded Moses to ascend Mount Sinai to show him 
His countenance, he exhibited it through an opening 
of the size of a needle's eye, and at the sight Moses 
fell into a trance. After a couple of hours, on coming 
to himself, he discovered the mountain in a blaze, when 
he descended immediately. The mountain then ad-j 
dressed the Almighty thus : " What ! hast thou set me, 
who am the least of mountains, on fire ? " Then the ( 
Lord commanded Moses, saying, " Henceforth shalt 1 
thou and thy posterity grind the earth of this mountain 
and apply it to your eyes." Since then, says a well- 
known authority, this custom has prevailed, and the 
soorma sold in the bazaars of Hindoostan is supposed to 
be earth coming from Mount Sinai. 



no 



CHAPTER VII 



THE MOUTH AND THE TEETH 



THE purity of the breath, which is so desirable in 
every human being, is an absolute necessity for 
every pretty woman, whose beauty counts for very, 
little if this one advantage is lacking. It would, there- 
fore, be a terrible mistake to neglect the (practically 
speaking) simple precautions insuring this priceless 1 
possession, — a sweet and fragrant breath. 

To begin with, one should avoid eating onions,! 
garlic, or any too highly spiced meats and fish ; but, in! 
case one has indulged in these aliments, a glass of milkj 
drunk immediately afterward will remove the faintest 
odor from the breath. Badly cared-for teeth, dyspepsia, 
the use of liquors and tobacco, are among the agents! 
most liable to destroy the purity of the breath. I have! 
said in a preceding chapter how prevalent of late hasM 
become the use of liquor among women, and how dis-, 
lastrous this indulgence is both for health and beauty J 
I will now touch upon another subject, namely, the] 
eveCsincreasine hahif ..amnnp- fashionab le wnmen 



THE 



H in 




smoking cigarettes. Having myself contracted this 
deplorable habit while in Russia and the far East, I can- 
not be accused of partiality when denouncing it as a 
great mistake on our part, and I know, probably better 
than any one else, how difficult it is to give it up when 
once one has grown to like the taste and sedative effects 
of the weed. What, therefore, should now be our aim 
is not to preach against smoking by women, but as far 
as possible to counteract its effects. 

In Europe, not only do the members of the most 
blue-blooded aristocracy, but also a great majority of 
the empresses, queens, and royal princesses, rest in the 
conviction that life bears a more beautiful aspect when 
looked at through the opalescent clouds of fragrant 
smoke which escape through their lips. A number 
of the leaders of fashion have of late years been going 
in for smoking-rooms of their own, and the most 
exquisite smoking paraphernalia is now to be found 
in ladies' boudoirs. 

The crusade against the use of tobacco during the 
past three centuries has been preached in vain. The 
consumption of the soothing herb first brought to 
Europe by gallant Sir Walter Raleigh, far from show- 
ing any signs of falling off, increases every year. Nor, 
as I just remarked, is the use thereof restricted to men. 
The fair sex, whose nerves are much more hiorhh 



112 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




strung, and whose hearts throb half as quickly again, 
are finding that the weed first dedicated to England's 
Virgin Queen is infinitely more effective than either 
chloral or morphine. It is true that in the United 
States the prejudice against smoking still remains, and 
there is a tendency to regard those who indulge in the 
habit as " fast," and even immoral. 

Empress Elizabeth, of Austria, smokes from thirty 
to forty Turkish and Russian cigarettes a day, and for 
many years it has been her inveterate custom to puff 
away after dinner at a strong Italian cigar, one of those 
with a straw running through it, which is brought to 
her with her cup of Turkish coffee every evening on a 
gold salver. She says herself that smoking soothes her 
nerves, and that whenever she feels " blue " a cigar or 
cigarette will do more than anything else to cause her 
to see things in a happier light. She is a perfect Greek 
and Latin scholar, and when writing she smokes almost 
continually. On her writing-table are always a large 
silver box of repousse-work, filled with cigarettes, a 
match-box of carved Chinese jade, and a capacious 
ash-receiver, made of the hoof of a favorite hunter 
which broke its spine over a blackthorn hedge, several 
years ago, during one of the autumn meets at Schloss 
Godollo, in Hungary. The Empress caused the hand- 
some mare's front hoofs to be mounted in silver in the 





THE MOUTH" A N D "fHETEE THTTJ 

form of ash-receivers, and gave one to the Emperor, 
the other constituting always part and parcel of her 
dressing-case wherever she goes. Almost mechanically 
her Majesty lights cigarette after cigarette, as she sits 
in her great writing-room at Godollo, which is fitted 
up with carved oak panels and Gobelin tapestries, the 
sombre hue of the walls being relieved here and there 
by trophies of the chase. Any one who has the oppor- 
tunity of examining closely the slender white hand of 
the imperial lady will certainly have noticed a faint 
yellow stain on the first and second fingers of the left 
hand, caused by the cigarette. But Elizabeth's brain 
has not been dulled, nor has her marvellous beauty 
been impaired by nicotine. For she still remains not 
only one of the loveliest, but also one of the most 
quick-witted, spirituelle, and intellectual women of 
the age. 

The dowager Czarina of Russia, who is likewise one 
of the vassals of King Nicotine, smokes in a some- 
what more indolent and almost Oriental fashion. 
Stretched on the silken cushions of a broad low divan 
at Gatchina, she follows dreamily with her beautiful 
dark eyes the rings of blue smoke that her crimson 
lips part to send upward into the perfumed air of her 
boudoir, — a boudoir which she calls her " den," and 
which is copied from one of the loveliest rooms of 




ii4 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




the Alhambra, with palms raising their banners against' 

the gorgeous colors and diapered gold of the walls. 

Heavy-hearted and anxious as the charming sovereign 

of all the Russias often is, her mind filled with grew-' 

[some fears of a cruel death for those she loves best, she 

finds in the cigarette her greatest solace, and she spends 

many an hour, her small patrician head, crowned by 

[its wealth of brown braids, reclining among the gold- 1 

I embroidered pillows of her couch, sending little clouds 

of smoke upwards to the ceiling, and sipping exquisite 

i Caravan tea, at forty dollars a pound. The latter is 

brought to her in a service made by the goldsmiths 

of the Deccan, who provide work beside which all the' 

best that Europe can furnish appears clumsy, vulgar, 

and inartistic. 

Queen Marguerite, of Italy, is another of the royal 1 
ladies who see no harm in the use of tobacco. Herj 
flashing black eyes look laughingly through fragrant 
clouds of smoke, and she is wont to declare that her 
[cigarette is more essential to her comfort than anything] 
else in life. King Humbert, who is still as much in] 
love with his charming consort as on the day when, 
twenty-one years ago, he first brought home to the, 
[Royal Palace at Turin the lovely daughter of the' 
Duke of Genoa, delights in smoking his cigar in her! 
coi 





THE 



H 115 



Christina, Queen Regent of Spain, is a great advo- 
cate of tobacco. She consumes a large quantity of 
Egyptian cigarettes, and there is nothing that her little 
" Bubi" His Most Catholic Majesty King Alphonso, 
XIII., enjoys more than when his mother permits him 
to strike a match and apply the flame to the end of hen 
cigarette. When thus engaged the little fellow laughs 
merrily, and indulges in all sorts of antics, like a light- 
hearted little monarch that he is. 

His Holiness Pope XIII. at any rate does not con- 
sider the use of tobacco as a vice, else he would] 
scarcely have conferred the Golden Ro,se on so invet-' 
erate and confirmed votaries of the weed as Queen 
Christina and the ex-Crown Princess of Brazil. In-i 
deed, there is every reason to believe that, like many' 
other enlightened spirits, he regards the objection to 
cigarettes as being mere smoke after all. 

The smoking paraphernalia of the beautiful and 
voluptuous-looking ex-Queen Natalie, of Servia, is of 
the most elaborate and magnificent description, while I 
the poet Queen of Roumania, so well known in the 
literary world under the pseudonym of " Carmen 
Sylva," is content with a gold cigarette-case suspended 
at her chatelaine. 

The Comtesse de Paris, the queen de jure of! 
France, is addicted to mild Havanas of delicious flayo 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 





^ 



and her daughter, Queen Amelia of Portugal, is a 
source of considerable fortune to the manufacturers of 
Russian cigarettes at Dresden. All the Russian Grand 
fin Duchesses and most of the Imperial Archduchesses 
of Austria — including Marie Therese, Elizabeth, and 
Clothilde — smoke to their hearts' content and in the 
most public manner, and their example is followed by- 
Queen Olga of Wurtemberg, who is a daughter of 
Czar Nicholas; by Queen Olga of Greece, who is 
likewise a Russian Grand Duchess ; bv the Princesses 
Leopold and Luitpold of Bavaria; and by Queen Hen- 
rietta of Belgium. Neither of the empresses of Ger- 
many, nor the Queen of Saxony, nor yet the Grand 
Duchess of Baden is known to use tobacco in any 
form ; and if either Queen Emma of Holland or the 
Queen of Sweden indulges in an occasional cigarette 
for the purpose of soothing sorely-tried nerves, she does 
so in private. 

Queen Victoria has an intense horror of smoking, 
and it is strictly prohibited at Windsor Castle, at 
Balmoral, and at Osborne. This, indeed, is one of 
the main reasons why the visits of the Prince of Wales 
to his august mother are so brief, and so few and far 
j between ; for the heir apparent to the English throne 
is so little accustomed to self-denial, and so fond of 
smoking, that he is scarcely ever to be seen for an hour 



m 




THE MOUTH AND THE TEETH 117 

together without a cigar or cigarette between his lips. 
Of his sisters, only the Princess Louise, Marchioness of I 
Lome, smokes ; but both his wife and daughters, espe- 
cially Princess Maud, are accustomed to indulge in a 
cigarette when in their morning-room at Sandringham 
or Marlborough House. Many, in fact, most of the 
great ladies of France, such as the Duchesses de 
Mouchy, de la Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville, d'Uzes, 
and de Maille, are fond of cigarettes, the fashion having 
been set in France some five and thirty years ago by 
Empress Eugenie, who, like all Spaniards, was never 
at her ease except when puffing clouds of fragrant 
smoke from her lips. Indeed, during the Napoleonic 
regime there was scarcely a corner in the palace of the 
Tuileries, St. Cloud, or Compiegne, which was not 
redolent with the fumes of tobacco. Of the members 
of the Imperial French Court, Napoleon's cousin, 
Princess Mathilde (who, although much over seventy 
years of age, has not very long ago contracted a mor- 
ganatic marriage with a young man of twenty-eight, 
and bearing the peculiar name of " Porquet," little 
porker), the Princesses de Sagan, the Marquise de 
Belboeuf, and the Comtesse de Pourtales may every 
one of them have been said to have seen life only 
through hazy clouds of smoke. In Austria and 
Hungary all the great ladies divide their loyalty equally 







1 1 



between their beloved Emperor on the one hand and' 
King Nicotine on the other ; and many is the time that 
the Princess Metternich, Princess Leontine Fiirsten- 
berg, Margravine Pallavicini, Countess Schonborn, Prin-' 
cess Clam-Gallas, and Countess Andrassy have been 
seen smoking on the race-course of the Freudenau, or 
even in the Stadt Park, while listening to the strains ofj 
Strauss's orchestra. 

It is in the Orient, however, that smoking has been 
developed into a fine art. Debarred from all the social 
pleasures and active mode of life of their European sis- 
ters, the ladies of the zenana are restricted to gossip, 
coffee, and tobacco. Nowhere else in the world are 
these three things brought to such a standard of perfec-| 
tion. A fair idea of the importance attached thereto] 
bv Turkish women of high rank may be obtained by 
mv readers from a short description of a visit which 1 1 
made a few vears ago, during Tewfik-Pacha's lifetime, 
to the harem of the Khedive of Egvpt at the Ismailia 
[Palace on the banks of the Nile. This is what I wrote 
at the time in my diary : — 

"The audience- chamber of his Highness' s only wife is a 

casket fit for a jewel. The furniture is of ivory and mother-of- 

3pearl, and the hangings of silvery satins, embroidered with 

pale roses and violets in silk and silver thread. The ceiling 








^))K£jG JK-»»73o^>ffiSjr 



THE MOUTH AND THE TEETH 119, 



glass in the windows is milk-white, while the floor is covered 
with thick white Aubusson rugs, strewn with a design of rose 
leaves and buds. Here, lying back on a low velvet divan, is 
the Vice-Queen, smiling her welcome to the approaching visi- 
tor. She is still extremely beautiful, although a little too 
short. Her face is brilliant and lovely like a Titian or a 
Rubens ; her eyes are very large and velvety, full of the slum- 
berous fires of the Orient ; her scarlet lips are like a double 
camellia petal, and her skin of the warm, creamy whiteness of 
the tea-rose. She is generally clothed in white silken tissues, 
cut a V ' Europeenne y with a great profusion of marvellous lace, 
and a perfect shower of pearls and diamonds glittering on her, 
hair and on her white bosom, encircling her wrists and cov- 
ering her small, plump hands. Diamonds sparkle everywhere ; 
the tobacco-box, which lies on a low inlaid table near the 
Vice-Queen, is studded with them. The inkstand and pen 
holder which adorn her writing-desk are all ablaze with splen 
did gems. Her Highness's slippers are thickly sewn with 
brilliants, and more jewels form monograms on all the dainty 
trinkets which surround her, from her gold footstool to her 
powder-box and tortoise-shell hand-glass. On her heart the 
Vice-Queen wears a miniature of her husband framed with 
huge diamonds and rubies, and around her waist is a broad 
band of the same stones to which is suspended a fan of snowy 
ostrich feathers, its handle encrusted with pearls, emeralds, and 
sapphires. In spite of all this profusion of jewelry, there is 
nothing discordant in the sovereign's appearance. The nature 
of the luxury is in perfect keeping with her Oriental styje of 



120 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




beauty, and the setting in absolute harmony with the great 
brilliancy of the picture she presents. 

" The Vice-Queen frequently smokes a narghile (water- 
jjljl pipe) . This becomes her even better than the more prosaic 
cigarette. The Khedive once presented his wife with a 
narghile of great magnificence. The bowl is of engraved rock 
crystal mounted in chased gold, fashioned in the form of a 
lotus flower. The tube is concealed by a deftly wrought 
network of pink silk and gold thread, while the amber mouth- 
piece and gold plateau are one mass of sparkling jewels.' ' 

I am bound to say, however, that every one of King 
Nicotine's worshippers, both in Europe and in the 
Orient, alike takes precautions to preserve her breath 
from becoming tainted by smoke, one of the safest 
•/being to swallow, several times during the course of 
the day, some tiny lozenges prepared by taking 



WtA 



Pulverized charcoal, 
Powdered sugar, 
Finely powdered chocolate, 
Powdered vanilla, 



2 ounces. 

2 " 

6 " 

i teaspoonful. 



Melt all these ingredients over a slow fire, stirring 
until thoroughly mixed. When reduced to a thick 
paste pour on a marble slab and, after letting it cool 
completely, cut into pastilles or lozenges. Oriental 
women chew tiny pieces of cinnamon or lentisque 




THE MOUTH AND THE TEETH 121 



seeds, and rinse their mouths morning and evening with 
a mixture of incense, camphor, and myrrh. 

Of course, when an offensive breath is caused by 
decayed teeth, I need not say that the dentist should 
immediately be consulted, and the teeth in question 
either filled or drawn without delay. 

It should not be forgotten that even when the teeth 
are pretty, white, and carefully attended to, the mouth 
cannot be called perfect unless the lips are in keeping 
with the rest. They should be of a fine ruby hue, soft, 
pliable, and, to use the favorite phrase of the novelists, 
" dewy." The vinegars and salves sold by perfumers 
and druggists to redden the lips are all humbug, if I 
may be permitted thus vigorously to express myself. 
They only too often harden and roughen the texture of 
the lips, cause them to become chapped, and end by 
rendering them positively repulsive to look at. It is 
infinitely preferable to have pale pink lips than to 
destroy them by means of semi-poisonous substances. 

A harmless pomatum, which softens the lips and 
brightens their color when used every night, especially 
during the cold season, is the Onguent des Sultanes^ of 
which I give the recipe : — 



White wax, 


60 grains. 


Whale-white, 


60 " 


Sweet almond oil, 


5 ounces 



t~ V^^ v 





122 



Rose water, 

Carmine, 

Balsam of Peru, 

Cocoa butter, 

Melt and mix together. 



i ounce 

5 grains. 
60 « 
120 " 
Keep in a glass jar. 



In Oriental harems a very effective balm is prepared 
for the same purpose by crushing a pound of fresh 
damask rose leaves in a cup of sweet cream ; force the 
mixture through a piece of gauze, stir a pinch of pow- 
dered vanilla therein, and rub upon the lips at night. 
This balm does not keep well, and it should be pre- 
pared every day. The proportions as given are in 
tended to suffice for several women. 

Parents are severely to be blamed when they do not 
see that their children's teeth are properly attended to 
very early in life, for were they to do so much suffering 
and discomfort would be subsequently avoided. Cleanli- 
ness as far as the teeth are concerned is of the greatest 
importance ; and when I say cleanliness, I do not mean 
I the matutinal tooth-brushing, but also a thorough rins- 
ing of the mouth after each meal, and a yet more 
scrupulous cleansing before retiring. If the tiniest 
pieces of food are allowed to remain between the teeth, 
[even for a few hours, they are apt to induce soreness, 
I and will breed decay with amazing fleetness. 

rthnkks should jigyer beaiseiL— £rst of aULbeca 




THE 



UTH AND THE TEETH 12 



they are intolerably vulgar and bad form, and also 
because they destroy the enamel. When anything has 
lodged between the teeth, and cannot be removed by 
the brush, a strand of white silk should be dragged up] 
and down in the interstice, instead of attempting t< 
dislodge it with a toothpick, or, horror of horrors, withl 
a pin ! The tooth-brush must be small, and not too 
hard, and should never be used for more than a month, 
as nothing is more deleterious to the healthy condition 
of the mouth than the employment of an old brush. 
The best of all tooth-cleansers is castile or carmel soap.i 
It freshens the gums and renders them firm, while 
it keeps the teeth white and lustrous. As I mentioned 
in the opening chapters, a pinch of salt used once a, 
week is excellent to remove and prevent tartar, but it 
is not to be used oftener. Many dental troubles arise 
from the delicacy or from the inflammation of the 
gums. When the latter are too soft the following 
specific rubbed into them will restore their firmness : 



Powdered quinquina, 
Powdered ratanhia, 
Chlorate of potash, 



225 grams. 
90 " 
40 " 



If the gums bleed easily, rinse the mouth with water- 
cress juice or a tea made of this astringent plant. 
Lemon-juice is also excellent when applied with ^a^spft 



124 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



red-sable brush. An old time remedy for toothache is 
to crush a little parsley with some salt, and to place a 
diminutive poultice of this against the root of the aching I 
tooth. In case the latter is hollow a small quantity of \\\ 
powdered alum dropped into it is verv soothing. The \\ 
best of all tooth powders is easy to prepare at home, fik ^ 



\\ It is composed of 



JK. 



French ~2.rr.e5i1. 
Bi-carbonate of soda, 
Powdered orris root, 
Green aniseed powder, 
Powdered charcoal, 
Powdered cloves, 



2 ounces. 

yi ounce. 

1 " 
350 grains. 
300 " 
350 « 



//// 



m 



V/a 



f '/■■ 



>M 



T^v 1 



Mix thoroughly, sift through a piece of silk gauze, 
and keep in a china or wooden box. 

An elixir to be used simultaneously with this pow- \» 
der is : — 

Essence of lavender, % fluid ounce. 

" of cloves, }4 " 

" of cinnamon, j| <( 

" English peppermint, 12c drops. 
Benzoic acid, 3 c " 

Rectified alcohol, 1 quart. 

Carmine, 15 grains. 

Ten to fifteen drops of this are to be used in a 

wineslass of water. 



\ -1 



WJff 

0\ 



wi 



m 



x 



THE MOUTH AND THE TEETH 125 




I may add here for those whose misfortune it is to' 
wear false teeth, that, with a view of avoiding the dis-- 
agreeable odor which emanates from this foreign body 
introduced in the mouth, the set of teeth should be 
washed twice a day in tepid water wherein a teaspoon- 
ful of the following elixir has been mixed : — 



Essence of watercress, 


ij* 


\ ounces. 


Tincture of cachu, 


85 


drops. 


" ofratanhia, 


85 


it 


Pure thymol, 


1 


drop 


Essence of thyme, 


1 


(t 



The mouth should also be rinsed with a weaker 
solution of the same elixir. 

A very good tooth-paste is prepared by amalgamating 
thoroughly 

Saccharine, 8 grains. 

Essence of rose geranium, 15 drops. 
" ofrosmarin, 8 «« 

I cannot forbear saying a few words in this chapter 
about the voice, which is certainly one of woman's 1 
greatest charms and powers of seduction. A sweet, 
melodious voice is sometimes enough to render a 
downright plain person agreeable, whereas a harsh grat- 
ing or nasal vocalization is repulsive, especially in a 
woman. Like anything else, the voice can be trained 





"Xand modelled with a little care. One should never 

k scream, shriek, or even raise the voice above its nat- 

Alural pitch, and when singing should avoid straining; the 

vocal cords, which when once injured never regain 

their softness. Here I must again caution mv fair 

/readers against the exaggerated use of tobacco, alco- 
V 




holic drinks, highly spiced food, etc., for their effect 
•fcnupon the voice is disastrous. Plenty of milk, butter- 
timilk, raw eggs, lemonade, and occasionally a mouthful 
of hot water have a beneficial effect on the voice. 
Jli.pJEfiChickweed tea cures hoarseness, and so does an infu- 
sion of plaintain-leaves and elder-blossoms. 

In the Orient a wonderful paste is prepared from the 
pulp of the apricot and of the fig, which marvellously 
softens and sweetens the voice. The fruit is peeled 1 
and slowly cooked with an equal quantity* of sugar, 
until reduced to a thick svrup, when it is poured intoj 
flat pine boxes and allowed to dry in the sun. A few 
pieces of this paste eaten two or three times a day are 

aid to cure all the small troubles of the throat and 
lungs, — cankers, colds, etc. Another, and this is a 
very ancient remedy for the same complaint, is to slice 
some raw carrots into a deep plate or dish, and to 

hicklv cover them with fine granulated sugar. Put 
the dish on ice for three hours, when vou will find that 
all the juice of the carrots has turned the sugar into 



■M 




THE 




127 



a delicious syrup, a spoonful of which is to be taken 
at a time. 

While I do not propose to enter into absolute medi- 
cal treatment, there are undoubtedly some simple pre- 
scriptions which every woman careful of her health 
and good looks should know how to prepare when' 
troubled by those thousand little ailments liable to 
impair both, but not of sufficient gravity to necessitate 
a visit from the family doctor. I therefore occasion- 
ally give a few remedies which ought to be kept in 
the dressing-room just as much as powders, perfumes,; 
and elixirs. One of these is for the .removal of those! 
horrid little white spots appearing sometimes on the 
gums or the tongue, which are a mild form of canker \ 
or ulceration : — 



White honey, 
Powdered borax, 
Tincture of valerian, 



2 tablespoonfiils. 
15 grains. 
1 fluid drachm. 



Mix well and take from one to two teaspoonfulsj 
a day, letting it melt gradually on the tongue. 

Strange to say, it is the highest classes of society which 
suffer the most from delicate or imperfect teeth. The 
lower a human being stands in the social scale — nay,, 
I might say the less civilized is a human being — the I 
stronger and finer are his or her teeth . The Massaj, a 







128 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



ferocious and piratic tribe of East Africa, are renowned 
for the extreme beauty of their teeth, which are daz- 
zlingly white and as even as rows of pearls. I may add 
that these savages may be numbered among the clean- 
liest and daintiest of natives. They use a quantity of 
soap made from the oil of the cocoanut-palm, and spend 
much time in polishing their teeth with corncobs dipped 
in palm wine. The inhabitants of Fernando-Po, who 
certainly belong to the lowest class of negroes, are also 
the happy possessors of magnificent teeth ; but they 
practise the startling custom of painting them a lurid 
red with the juice of a shrub which grows plentifully in 
their forests. This, however, is only done by the 
upper ten, the inner social circle of Fernando-Po. It is 
rather remarkable that even the tribes lowest on the 
human ladder have their fashions, their " dudes " and 
their "belles." 

Some of the natives of the Cameroon-German pos- 
sessions beautify their teeth by diligently polishing them 
with short elastic sticks taken from the bark of a pecu- 
liar tree which grows in the swamps, and by rubbing 
them with the leaves of the box-tree thoroughly crushed 
to a pulp. A celebrated English traveller, who spent 
some time among them, adopted box-tree leaves as a 
dentifrice, and told me on one occasion when I had the 
pleasure of dining with him at the English Embassy 



THE MOUTH AND THE TEETHI29I 



at Cairo that since he did so he had never suffered 
from toothache, and that his teeth were always in a 
perfectly healthy condition. I will not recommend 
quite as highly the peculiar u secrets de toilette " of the 
" Bakuti," a rather erratic tribe hailing from the Upper 
Congo, for their ladies not only pull out their eyelashes 
and eyebrows with tweezers, and cut patterns of elabo- 
rate design on their cheeks and foreheads with razor- 
edged knives, but have, like two other African tribes, 
a knack of arranging their teeth to suit their slightly 
fantastic taste. They file and break them into sharp 
points after a fashion which would probably arouse some 
astonishment in the bosom of European and American! 
dentists, and which makes the poor dusky women loo 
more or less like blood-thirsty sharks ! Very likely,' 
however, they know what suits them best, and, more 
over, women of every clime can endure much in the 
good and worthy cause of a well-developed vanity 
The French proverb, u 77 faut souffrir pour etre belief 
is, according to this, true, even in the wilds of Africa 
as it is in our midst, or in distant Japan, where th 
mousmes blacken their teeth, gild their lips, and pou 
castor-oil over their tresses, in the fallacious hope o 
improving their good looks. 

Voltaire truthfully remarked that no woman can be 
ill-looking with good teeth, or good-looking with bad 



3° 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



and this is an additional proof of the need which there 
is for us to take care of our teeth. All teeth, however, Vj 
are not alike, and those who find a difficulty in purify- 
ing their appearance may well take counsel of their 
[dentist. Many, for instance, will find a toothbrush of 
badger hair both more comfortable and more effective 
than the ordinary variety. Of powders, tooth-soaps, $ 
[pastes and fluids, there are surely enough and to spare, 
i and it may prove that the best of these is also the 
simplest. Happy are those people who were taught in 
, their infancy to attend to their teeth before going to 
bed at night as well as after getting up in the morning 
for this excellent habit is not readily acquired in later 
years. 




HINTS ON CORPULENCE 



J 3T 



CHAPTER VIII 



A FEW HINTS ON CORPULENCE 



ALTHOUGH old people are singularly fond of 
talking of the marked decrease which time 
is bringing about in female beauty, it is by no means 
certain that there are not a greater number of pretty] 
women nowadays than were to be found in preced-' 
ing generations. My personal opinion (which I may 
in all humility put forward, as I have travelled prettyj 
nearly all over the world) is that there can be no 
doubt as to the prevalence of beauty in the present 
day. No one who keeps his eyes open can fail to be 
struck by it. It is not merely that there are more 
beauties of the first order than there seem ever to have 
been before, but that beauty has become so very general. 1 
Any one who wishes to test this has only to stand in 
Piccadilly in London, in the Allee des Acacias at Paris, 
the Viennese Prater, the Roman Corso, the Prospekt- 
Newsky in St. Petersburg, or Central Park in New York,i 
and watch the stream of life rolling past him in car-l 
ria^es and on font, an d if he do es no t in one afternoon 




132 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



see more pretty faces than in all the Reynolds and 
Gainsboroughs he knows, he will be very unfortunate. 

No woman has been more celebrated for her beauty 
than Mary, Queen of Scots, and yet nothing can be 
more disappointing than her portraits. As we are not 
satisfied with a degree of beauty which sufficed for 
Mary's contemporaries, — which sent the men of her 
day off" their heads and filled her cousin Elizabeth with 
deadly jealousy, — the inference is that the standard of 
beauty has risen, and the rise has been gradual and 
constant, each generation making a certain advance 
over its predecessor. 

In those days it must be confessed all our present 
u recherches de toilette " were yet unknown, athletic 
sports were more or less left to the sterner sex, and 
consequently fine ladies who lived an idle, contempla- 
tive life, devoid of bodily exercise and of hydrotherapy, 
deteriorated very fast indeed. 

Bodily exercise is without a doubt the best of all 
cures for the dread evil which is called obesity, one 
of the most serious enemies which a woman past thirty 
may dread, and an evil especially aggravating as it 
drowns the greatest charm of feminine beauty, the 
figure and the contour of the features. It is not as 
difficult to conquer exaggerated stoutness as is generally 
believed to be the case ; yet it would be better to take 



\\\ 



HINTS ON CORPULENCE 



33 



precautions in order not to become too stout than to 
diminish an abnormal surplus of flesh which has been 
allowed to augment until life has become scarcely 
worth living. 

This can easily be done by taking plenty of exercise, 
such as daily walks, rides, by playing lawn tennis or 
igolf, and by swimming and practising gymnastics. Of 
[all the above hygienic pastimes, walking and swimming 
ire undoubtedly the best for preventing undue stout- 
mess. The former can, of course, be indulged in both 
[in summer and winter, but the latter presents diffi- 
:ulties during the cold months. Some thoroughly 
elegant European great ladies have swimming-baths 
ittached to their bath-rooms. The most luxurious is 
^hat adjoining the dressing-room of the Dowager 
^Empress of Russia. The walls, ceiling, and " pond " 
ire entirely of pink Carrara marble, and there she dives 
fand floats in cold water every morning for half an hour, 
leven during the severest days of the bitter Russian 
winter. The room is, of course, heated to an almost 
tropical temperature, which makes the cold water ex- 
tremely refreshing and pleasant. Few women, how- 
ever, can afford to grant themselves such luxuries ; so 
I most of us abandon the idea of swimming in winter, 
and are content with walking regularly every day for 
one or two hours, with fencing, and with such other 



34 



GL 



sports as can be equally enjoyed at all times of the' 
year. 

Among the many remarkable features of this cen- 
tury of enlightenment and progress is the sporting' 
woman. Even down to fifty years ago she was a 
rarissima avis, and Diana Vernons were the excep- 
tions rather than the rule. To-day, however, there is 1 
scarcely a branch of sport which we have not invaded! 
and adopted for our amusement. We play baseball ; 
we shoot; we play cricket and tennis; we swim; we, 
scull; we gaddle canoes with far more grace than men 
and quite as much skill ; we fence ; we have becom< 
adept anglers of salmon and trout ; we skate ; we play 1 
golf; we sail; we drive four-in-hand and tandem; and] 
we even ride steeple-chases. Indeed, almost the only 
form of sport to which we have not directed our atten- 
tion is football; the reason being, I suppose, that! 
we could not possibly enjoy a good hearty scrimmage 
without risking our beauty. One of the most expert 
(anglers of the present day is Lady Colin Campbell, 
daughter-in-law of the Duke of Argyll, and sister-in- 
law of Princess Louise of Great Britain. Lady Colin, 
I who is a very beautiful woman of above the average 
[stature, starts gayly to her work dressed in a pair of 
tweed knickerbockers, kilt skirt, loose many-pocketed 
'coat, woollen stockings and thic k hobn ailed hnnts 01 




35 



of which the water can u squelch " as easily as it 
enters. She starts at a low point down the stream, 
casts in the pools, tumbles in up to her waist, kills her 
fish without any trace of tenderness, and then sits down 
J to a "thimbleful" of sherry — without a little flask 
of which no wise trout-fisher, either male or female, 
will set out on a day's fishing. The champion lady 
cricketer is Lady Milner, wife of Sir Frederick Milner, 
of Nun Appleton, Yorkshire ; and many are the maga- 
zine articles and essays which she has published con- 
cerning her favorite sport. Some of them constitute 
very amusing reading, especially one in which she 
laments that " a favorite form of fielding with some 
ladies is stopping the ball with their petticoats." She 
likewise complains that cricketers belonging to our 
sex do not " dare to stand up to a fast ball when field- 
ing." It seems, however, that when we are batting at 
the wickets the fielder known by the name of " cover- 
point " becomes unnecessary, as, owing to the presence 
of our skirts, we are unable to " cut." u Few of us 
throw well," says Lady Milner, sadly. Most of us, it 
seems, do not throw, but bowl the ball. Stays, accord- 
ing to Lady Milner, are a great drawback to feminine 
cricket, and to baseball as well, I should imagine ; for 
women wearing corsets dislike to stoop, and stoop we 
must if we wish to become good " fielders." In 



i 3 6 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




Austria ladies' steeple-chases have for a long time past 
been one of the favorite amusements of the great ladies ; 
and both at Gmunden Gratz, Meran, and numerous 
other popular resorts, steeple-chases take place over 
really difficult courses, where all the riders are ladies 
of rank, who wear with the ordinary riding-skirt the 
colored silk jacket and peaked cap in true jockey style. 
The champion steeple-chase rider in Europe is the 
blond Countess Ugarte, who is one of the ladies-in- 
waiting to the Empress of Austria, and is married to 
Count Hector Baltazzi, uncle of the Baroness Marie 
Vetsera, who played so distressing a role in the tragedy 
at Meyerling, where Crown Prince Rudolph met with 
his death. A few years ago, for the first time on 
record, a ladies' steeple-chase was got up in England at 
Melton Mowbray ; and it turned out a great success, 
there being no less than a dozen entries and no 
scratches. 

Among the best sporting shots of our sex are Lady 
Florence Dixie, who has killed all kinds of big game, 
Countess Octavius Kinsky, Princess Metternich, and 
the Duchesse d'Uzes. I should also add the name of 
Lady Eva Quinn, who has slaughtered with her rifle 
several tigers during her stay in India. Lady Florence 
Dixie, who is the sister of the Marquis of Queens- 
berry, has likewise a couple of grizzly bears, shot in 



HINTS ON CORPULENCE 



x 37 



the Rocky Mountains, to her credit. No longer con- 
tent to restrict ourselves to merely putting in an 
appearance at luncheon on the days when our hus- 
bands, brothers, and masculine relatives are out covert- 
shooting or attending " game drives," we nowadays 
take our place among the " guns," endeavor by fair and 
even foul means to secure a particularly " hot corner," 
and furnish quite a respectable proportion of the day's 
slaughter. The costume which we don on these 
occasions is particularly " fetching," our object being 
not only to divert the attention of the men from the 
game, so as to leave us the larger share thereof, but 
also to quench, by means of the admiration which we 
inspire, those feelings of irritation which the men quite 
naturally feel at our depriving them of the larger share 
of the sport. 

The three best four-in-hand drivers on record among 
women are Queen Marie Henriette, of Belgium, the 
Countess Sparre, of Austria, and the Countess of War- 
wick, of England. 

At golf, too, our sex has achieved distinction. 
Women now gayly " skelp " their " divots " over the 
holy " links," and show considerable skill in " putting." 
True, a woman in a " bunker " presents a somewhat 
melancholy spectacle, and it requires an immense 
amount of practice to hit the ball fair. It is, however, 



J ? 



GL 




a fairly healthy exercise for us, and is especially useful 
in accustoming us to discipline our tempers j for there 
are few things more exasperating than to have the 
i" cleek " swung into one's eyes, or to have for a part- 
iner a male " duffer." 

But to return to the subject of obesity 7 and the treat- 
ment thereof, I will say most emphatically that self- 
discipline and a capacity for taking pains are the only 
'reliable weapons for fighting an invading embonpoint. 
I think I have already referred to an old book that still 
^exists in France which reveals many secrets known to 
Ninon de l'Enclos and other beautiful women of thel 
same epoch, and where there are to be found some ex- 
cellent suggestions. It is from this old work that I 
translate those fundamental rules for the maintenance 
of a juvenile slimness. 




" Linen sheets, candies, pastries, malt drinks, and hot baths 
should be avoided by the woman who fears stoutness. The 
simplest food and plenty of exercise are recommended, for, 
(like all things really worth having, one pays a heavy price fori 
the prolongation oi youth beyond the allotted time. Breakfast 
should consist of weak tea, a soft-boiled egg, and some dry toast 
or light, dry biscuits. For luncheon, partake of a small piece, 
[of underdone steak or some cold, rare beef, a fresh salad, and 
ifruit for dessert. At dinner time, a bowl of clear bouillon, 
again someunderdone meat, sa lad, fruit, dry toas t. _and per- 




fcYV/l 

4>' 



N 



39, 



haps a sherbet of fresh fruit ice, but no iced drinks, vege- 
tables, potatoes, bread, or any other kind of farinaceous food. 
Claret or white Burgundy as a drink, and cold tea or mineral 
water in small quantities may be taken if one feels very thirsty. 
Before retiring at night the entire body should be sponged offj 
well with cold water. 

" Many women swear by some form of oleaginous applica- 
tion, which, however, has a tendency to clog up the pores of 
the face ; instead of this, an astringent which tightens the skin 
and wards off wrinkles is to be recommended. Rosewater 
diluted with pure tincture of benzoin is an excellent and harm- 
less astringent which whitens the skin wonderfully. It may] 
be applied both at bedtime and on returning from the open! 
air, and the only safe and astringent " oily " unguent for the 
skin is mutton suet refined and slightly perfumed. It should, 
be applied from neck to heels with the hand and gently rubbed] 
in so as not to shine or become sticky. It then leaves a soft, 
satiny surface. This treatment prevents layers of fat from 
forming under the skin, and stout people will be surprised to 
see how rapidly it will reduce their bulk if continued nightly. 

"Always sleep between extra fine flannel sheets, which j 
absorb every particle of moisture thrown out by the body. 
In the morning take a plunge into cold water, rub yourself 
briskly first with a crash towel and then with a chamois-leather 
napkin. Once a week take a vapor bath, after which be sure 
to submit to a thorough friction with a flesh glove. In con- 
junction with this, horseback riding is excellent, also a three- 
mile walk daily, dancing whenever you can. At any rate no 



140 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 






less than two hours a day should be spent in the open air. Sleep 
in a cold room with ample covering ; never eat after eight 
o'clock at night, and especially avoid sugar in all its forms." 

Here is a quite modern formula, which is perfectly 
harmless, and which, taken in doses of a teaspoonful in 
a little water three times a day, is excellent for diminish- 
ing stoutness : — 



Tincture of iodine, 
Iodide of potassium, 
Distilled water, 
Aniseed water, 



30 minims. 
63 grains. 
- ounces. 
170 minims. 



* 



o-£i>* 



jm$S3 



When the case is an aggravated one, a good plan is 
to live exclusively on milk for three months, taking 
care to have the milk boiled and cooled oit before 
drinking; it. This is a somewhat heroic measure to 
adopt, but the results nevertheless are entirelv satisfac- 
tory. A few vears ago I knew a verv prettv woman 

V\ who, when she reached the age of thirty-five, began yen* 
suddenly to grow excessively stout. Her dismay was 
intense, for the delicate contour of her exquisite face 
and of her aristocratic figure threatened to disappear in 
"tjS^^5C5i^\\\ tne tapidiv increasing waves of flesh. She not only 
submitted to the milk diet for five long months, but 

/,] also caused herself to be rubbed from head to foot night 
and morning bv her maid for half an hour at a time 

_ 



m 
1 



HINTS ON CORPULENCE 14I 



with a weak solution of hydriodate of potassium im 
alcohol, and used for her bath iodine soap only. Thisi 
treatment brought about marvellous results, and at thel 
end of the fifth month she had entirely regained her 
graceful and juvenile figure. 

I may also mention here the names of some of the^ 
European watering-places most celebrated for the cure 
of obesity. Among the best of them are Plombieres, 
Pougues, Treves, Aix-les-Bains, Carlsbad, and Krapina- 
Teplitz. Mild purgatives are also to be recommended,j 
say a seidlitz powder every other day before breakfast^! 
or a bottle of citrate of magnesia twice a week. A, 
very simple remedy for obesity which has come down! 
to us from antiquity is to drink four times a day a glass 
of chickweed water prepared thus : Take some freshly' 
gathered white-blossomed chickweed, wash it carefully, 
and boil for three quarters of an hour in an enamelled 
saucepan, — six handfuls of the plant being the correctj 
proportion to the quart of water, — strain the liquid int( 
a stone jar in which have been placed a few sticks ofj 
liquorice-wood and the thinly peeled skin of a lemon.1 
When cool, strain again and use as directed. 

It will be well to remember that a too rapid disap-* 
pearance of flesh or fat is liable to bring on a loose- 
ness of the skin, which creases, wrinkles, and folds 
like the envelope of a balloon after the gas has almost 



142 



GL 




entirely escaped. This condition may be averted byi 
an intelligent and persistent course of massage, and 
especially as far as the face is concerned, by adding a 
teaspoonful of powdered alum to a basin of water fon 
I ablutions before going to bed, the alum by its astringent 
properties tightening the skin and rendering the tissues 
firm. Before closing this chapter, I will say a few 
(words to women who, far from being afraid of growing 
too stout, consider themselves too thin and are desirous 
of acquiring flesh. With this object in view the 
Requisite treatment is singularly pleasant, and consists 
mostly in living well, drinking ale, porter, and beer,j 
champagne and effervescent waters ( all in moderation, 
of course) at each meal; eating savory food, pastry, i 
rich fish, vegetable salads, croquettes, potatoes, etc., etc. I 
If vinegar can be dispensed with, so much the better, as' 
it and acids, such as that contained in the lemon, are] 
well known to have a tendency to thin the blood and to 
be inimical to a gain of flesh. For breakfast a cup of 
creamy chocolate (coffee is ruinous for a fine complex- 1 
ion), some warm rolls, fruit in season, and underdone 
lamb chops. Luncheon : Fish, poultry, steak, and some 
kind of light pudding. Dinner : Oysters, soup, fish, 
roast meat, game, pudding, etc. Moreover, if one is] 
anxious to obtain rapid results, a bottle of kumyss or< 
some milk wherein two tablespoonfuls of malt have been 



H 





43 



dissolved, may be taken at ten o'clock in the morning. 
Champagne, chicken and lettuce salads, ices, pickles, 
and thin white wines should be avoided, also whiskey, 
tobacco, and violent exercise. 

Here is an invaluable formula for the preparation of I 
an emulsion or balsam which promotes the firmness and 
volume of the breast, and prevents it ever becoming 
flaccid : — 



Rosewater, 


20 ounces. 


Tincture of myrrh, 


Yi ounce. 


" li benzoin, 


K " 


" <( guillaya, 


% " 


Essence of bergamot, 


1 drachm. 


Almond milk, 


1 ounce. 


Rectified alcohol, 


1 ounce. 


Essence of verbena, 


1 drachm. 


Powdered alum, 


90 grains. 



Dissolve the alum in the rosewater, then add the other 
constituents, and shake until entirely incorporated. 
Apply at night by rubbing gently but thoroughly withj 
the palm of the hand. 

Strangely enough, tea is good for both thin and stout 
women, if taken in moderation, and especially when not 
allowed to " draw " too long. This bit of information 
1 will, I feel certain, delight my readers, for where is the! 
true womanly woman who does not dearly love her cup 



144 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 





"m 



of tea ? Let me here open a parenthesis, and although 
the subject is quite irrevelant, state my astonishment ati 
the fact that although many of the millinery and dry-l 
goods stores patronized by New York women of fashion) 
are beginning to cater to the truly feminine longing of 
their fair customers for that most refreshing of all 
beverages, u a cup of tea," yet few, if any, devot< 
sufficient attention to the manner in which it is served. 
As a general rule, the crockery is most unnecessarily 
thick and coarse, the bread and butter is cut in almost 
chunk-like pieces, and the style in which the entire 
repast is served painfullv reminds one of a ragged-school 
treat. If once they could grasp the idea that the meal 
must be made as inviting as possible, the managers of 
the new style tea-room would not stop halfway in their 
efforts, but would have the courage of their newly 
adopted opinion and try to make all the arrangements 
as like those of a ladies' drawing-room as it lies in 
their power to do. The tea-room should be furnished 
in soft, light colors, the floor laid with fine Japanese 
matting, with here and there some handsome bright- 
hued rugs to break the monotony thereof. 

Well-cushioned basket-chairs would be a pleasant 
feature of such an apartment, while screens hand- 
painted, or delicately inlaid, are sure to amuse the 
eye of the pretty gourmandes. The most important 





HINTS ON CORPULENCE "I45 

point of all is, however, the china belonging to the tea 
equipage. It is absolutely necessary that this should 
be of the finest eggshell ware, daintily decorated and of 
attractive shape, for the " fragrant brew " acquires an 
entirely different flavor when drunk from such vessels. 
The store of provisions must, in any event, be kept out 
of sight, as nothing is more nauseating for delicate 
organizations than the display of quantities of food 
piled together, as if the provider had been catering for 
the famished inhabitants of a beleaguered city. An 
agreeable addition to the up-to-date tea-room would also 
be a few little " davenports," where -letters could be 
written, or telegrams sent off, and vases of flowers, 
green palms in tubs, or blossoming shrubs. By such 
means would the owners of large fashionable stores, and 
also hotels and restaurants, considerably increase the 
attractions of their establishments, and secure a far 
larger and higher-classed patronage. 



10 



146 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




CHAPTER IX 



LES DESSOUS 



IT is difficult to give in English a fair translatioi 
of this expressive and comprehensive French 1 
word, dessous ; but I may state that it includes evei 
article of apparel worn beneath the outermost garment, 
and as the elegance of the dessous is a far more im- 
portant criterion as to the social status of the wearer] 
than the dress itself, this deserves the honor of 
special chapter. 

In too many instances this question receives but] 
scant attention from women whose aim is more t( 
appear fashionable and well-dressed than to be really 1 
so. This is a grave error, for no amount of silks^ 
[velvets, and embroideries worn over coarse petticoats, 
twill corsets, and cotton hose will produce the effect oi 
true chic given by a plain tweed suit — silk lined, of\ 
(course — that serves as a mere covering for the mar-J 
r els of lingerie adopted by all sincerely elegant women. 
(There are, sad to relate, very few so-called society i 
'women who, in ea.s p-.p,f arrjdenfi fii irl rtf n illft ^s ^ ej 



ous 



l A-7i 



could afford to remove their outer garments without 
having to blush for the state of those that are under- 
neath. Stand at the corner of any street leading from 
Broadway to Fifth Avenue, on a muddy afternoon, and 
watch the women tripping across the latter fashionabl 
thoroughfare. Once in a long while the raised ski 
reveals a dainty lace-edged or shimmering silken petti- 
coat, but in the great majority of cases the spectacle 
is by no means pleasing. 

Far be it from me, however, to advise any true elegante 
to indulge in those extremely elaborate, lace-decke 
and beribboned underclothes which always savor o 
the demi-monde. I have had the opportunity of ex- 
amining a great many imperial and royal trousseaux^ 
and can say that they are mostly composed of article 
the texture of which is extremely fine and costly, but 
are absolutely devoid of any kind of showy ornamenta-P 
tion, — in many cases even of lace or embroideries. 
Fine batiste, hemstitched by hand, with a daintily 
worked monogram surmounted by a crown, for da 
wear, and equally fine batiste or silk mull, chastely 
trimmed with Valenciennes lace, for night robes, 
peignoirs, and dressing sacks, is the usual fashion in 
the bona-fide grand-monde. 

Some time ago the Dowager Empress of Russia 
who is one of the arbiters of fashion in Euroce — 



148 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



inaugurated a new kind of lingerie which created quite 
a furore, perhaps because, in spite of its apparent sim- 
plicity, it is exceedingly expensive. It is made of the 
sheerest of nettle-batiste, and is buttonholed with pure 
gold thread, which washes without tarnishing. The 
effect produced is by no means showy, and an untutored 
eye would not dream what the cost of such underwear 
really is. 

We live in a progressive age, and on every side 
changes are taking place. These innovations affect 
every class of society and every condition and feature 
of our existence. They extend even to the bedroom, 
that most intimate and characteristic of all the apart- 
ments of the house. The highly burnished warming- 
pan and the picturesque night-cap of our grandmothers 
have vanished, while the stately and dignified four- 
poster has given way to that far lighter and more 
aerial contrivance, the French bedstead. And now, 
according to the latest edict of fashion from Paris and 
London, the robe-de-nuit, or, to call it by its plain 
English name, the night-gown, must go too. Its 
place is to be taken by pyjamas, those nondescript 
garments consisting of very loose trousers and a jacket, 
the use of which at night has hitherto been restricted 
to the masculine sex. The new pyjamas for feminine 
wear which I have seen and which have been made 




LES DESSOUS 



149 



at Paris, are very dainty and beautiful contrivances, 
trimmed elaborately with ribbons and laces. Far from 
diminishing the attractiveness of a pretty woman, they 
vastly increase it, by endowing her with an air of 
gaminer'ie which is exceedingly fetching. Of course it 
is easy to understand that pyjamas for feminine wear 
will not prove equally charming and picturesque in all 
cases. For instance, there are some of us, who, being 
endowed with a superabundance of adipose tissue, will 
resemble meal bags rather than members of the fair 
sex when arrayed in pyjamas ; while others who suffer 
from a lack of avoirdupois will find the prominence 
f their bones and angles accentuated thereby. That 
hey are more healthy, and more decent in the case 
of any emergency, such as the panic of fire at night, 
[is obvious. A woman arrayed in her pyjamas can jump 
ut of bed and make her escape from the burning 
house without having to stop to put on a dressing- 
gown to conceal the somewhat ridiculous aspect of a 
night robe. 

Pyjamas should be made of the thinnest and finest 
wool. Here in the United States especially, where 
tropical heat is generally followed by sudden cool waves, 
wool next to the skin is essential for preventing chills. 
Moreover, they possess the inestimable advantage of 
being not only warm in cold weather, but of keeping 




-*4ft 



III 





the bodv cool when the atmosphere is hot. Without 
a loubt, pyjamas are far more healthy than the long 
cumbersome night robes to which we are accustomed 
from childhood, and I can recommend them to children i 
and to women who have not vet crossed the dread 
boundary of the fiftieth year. 

Le: us now come to the much-discussed and vexa- 
tious question of corsets. One can hardlv open a 
newspaper nowadavs without being stared in the face 
bv some article peremptorilv demanding the abolition, 
k?£:3 of this "instrument of torture ; " but let me state that, 
like the proposed adoption of the divided skirt, th( 
abolition of the corset is instigated either by men whose^ 
knowledge about us is of a nature more theoretical!'' 
than practical, or else by women whose lamentable] 
deficiency in what is known as "figure" invests them' 
with a far greater moral and physical analogy to thej 
masculine than to the feminine gender. Neither the 
men nor vet the women to whom I have just alluded, 
are in anv wav qualified to discuss the subject; for 
thev are equally unable to realize that even the most 
perfectly formed woman requires a certain amount of' 
artificial support for the bust. If the latter is well 
shaped and generous in its proportions, a continued ab- 
sence of this support imposes too heavy a strain upon 
the muscles of the breast, and in the contrary case a! 





I Sh 



well-built corset is still more to be recommended. The 
corset of to-day possesses much analogy with the stro- 
phium of Helen of Troy and with the cingulum of 
Lucretia ; for it is made to follow the lines of the] 
figure, showing them off to the best advantage. Men! 
are wont to rave about the " classical beauty of form " 
possessed by the women of ancient Greece and Rome, 
and to compare it with that of the civilized women of 
to-day to the disadvantage of the latter. They use 
this comparison as the basis of their argument that 
corsets are both injurious and unnecessary. " Neither] 
the Venus of Milo nor yet the Venus di Medici ever! 
(wore stays," they declare. This only demonstrates 
their intense ignorance j for there are any number of j 
ancient pieces of sculpture depicting Roman ladies on 
the classical ages wearing the cingulum, or broad jew- 
elled band, immediately beneath the bust, and evidently 
intended to support it. In Greece the cingulum was 
known as the strophium. Homer speaks of it in his 
Iliad, describing the siege of Troy and the beauty 
of Helen ; while in the Paris Louvre there is a very 
(antique statuette, found during the excavations at the 
iAcropolis at Athens, representing a girl in the act of 
[putting on a broad, supporting strophium. If, therefore, 
[the women of ancient Greece and Rome possessed 
[beautiful figures, — and men are very fo nd of extol lin g 



152 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 





their perfections of form beyond that of the fair sex 
of to-day, — it is clearly attributable to the fact that 
they adopted methods almost identical with those in 
use by their sisters of the nineteenth century for the 
protection and support of their bust. Those who are 
heartily to be pitied are our unfortunate ancestresses 
of the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth 
centuries ; for their corsets were most stupendous affairs, 
garnished with iron, compared with which the modern 
strait waistcoat used in lunatic asylums must be a 
comfortable tea-gown. Nor were the corsets worn by 
the great French ladies at the court of Louis XIV. 
and Louis XV. much better, and there are but few 
women to-day who would be willing to undergo so 
much torture as must have been borne by Madame de 
Maintenon, the Marquise de Pompadour, and Madame 
Du Barry when imprisoned in their stays. Corsets 
should always be made to order, for just in the same 
way that there are no two human faces exactly alike, 
there are no two women's figures that are fashioned on 
the same lines. Consequently, each woman should 
have corsets specially arranged to adapt themselves to 
her form. Otherwise, they are calculated to do her 
more harm than good, and to interfere later with the 
grace both of her carriage and of her walk. With 
regard to the latter, I wonder how it is that none of 




LES DESSOUS 



*53. 



the numerous teachers of deportment does not adopt 
the Oriental method of teaching young girls how to 
walk. There is no more graceful walk in the world 
than that of the Egyptian peasant woman, as I remarked 
in a preceding chapter. It is stately, poetical, and one 
might almost add rhythmical, with something of a glid- 
ing and undulating character. This result is achieved 
by accustoming the young girls from their early child- 
hood to walk with jars of water balanced on their heads. 
In order to preserve the equilibrium of these jars, the 
girls are forced to hold their head erect, their shoulders 
back, their bust well forward, their whole body straight, 
and to permit nothing to interfere with the harmony 
of their motion. 

It should also be understood that under no circum- 
stances are tightly laced corsets to be worn ; for this 
practice causes not alone much discomfort, but is liable 
to bring about the most dangerous kind of heart and 
stomach troubles, not to mention the fact that tight 
lacing at any time induces a most unbecoming redness 
of the nose. The latest innovation in the corsets is 
the Indian belt, — a very short and artistically made 
ceinture of thin untanned leather. No steel is used 
in it, but a broad and pliable whalebone replaces the 
busk, and is fastened with silver clasps placed an inch 
apart from top to bottom, As far as the material used 




for corsets is concerned, it may naturally be left to the 
taste of the wearer, although I may say that, as in the 
case with the other articles of underwear, anything 
ishowy ought to be avoided. Black satin corsets, some- 
|how or other, always suggest a motive of economy 
'and lack of personal recherche, while pink, blue, green, 
or yellow are only permissible when they match in 
icolor and texture the chemise, petticoats, etc., to be 
[worn with them. In my opinion the white moire 
corset, delicately and slightly trimmed with Valen- 
ciennes lace and a dainty, pure, silver stitching, is the 
only one which a truly elegant woman ought to wear. 

Corset covers should never be omitted, even with 

evening and ball dress, for without them not only does 

the corset become soiled in a few hours, but the fit of 

the corsage suffers, and moreover, when the latter 

is of some flimsy material, the bones of the corset are 

very liable to show through, thus producing a very 

'inelegant effect. Nowadays, corset covers possess no 

iresemblance whatsoever to the old-fashioned muslin 

underwaist, trimmed with Swiss embroidery, which 

was considered " the thing " some years ago. Sheer 

(batiste encrusted with fine lace applique work, white 

i surah with Valenciennes insertion and comette ribbon 

runners, or even rich old guipure on a pale pink, pale 

blue, or mauve transparent taffetas, are worn bv the 






155 



truly dainty woman who considers her dessous as of far 
greater importance than her dessus. In the morning or 
afternoon, tailor-made corset-waists of light colored 
doeskin, suede or glace kid for winter wear, and of 
Roman satin for the summer, are quite the rage ; they, 
must, of course, fit like a glove, without fold or wrinkle,! 
and, so to speak, take the place of a man's waistcoat. 
Another style, again, is the lace zouave, fastened 
beneath the breast by a single little jewelled stud. 
This is a very chic little garment, and gives a slim, 
pretty woman the appearance of a little toreador bent 
on mischief. 

A very important item comprised in the feminine 
dessous are the stockings. Never has there been so 
much luxury displayed in women's hose as at the present 
time. Some fifteen or twenty years ago the ne plus 
ultra of chic consisted in owning a few dozen pairs of 
white silk, or even white lisle thread, openwork stock- 
ings, which were worn on great occasions, and preserved 
carefully between fragrant sachets. Now, on the con-! 
trary, the different styles of hose are legion, and even 
those worn with tailor-made dresses, shooting costumes, 
or riding habits are perfect little poems of refinement 
and color. I need not say that the stocking must 
invariably match the shade of the toilette with which it 
is worn, excepting in the case of black stockings, which 



>F=>»=5ft>>^ 



I 5 6 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




may be worn with any kind of costume. In Paris, for 
day wear, black silk stockings embroidered with ex- 
iquisitely tinted flowers in floss silk are the rage, and 
for evening wear there is nothing prettier than black 
or white silk hose with real lace insertions. I may 
also mention here that some extravagant women have 
I of late introduced stockings made entirely of valuable 
lace, embroidered on the instep with seed pearls and 
small brilliants, the effect of which is exquisite, espe- 
ciallv when this costly footgear is accompanied by a 
white kid slipper equally shimmering with gems. 

Let now our undivided attention be given to the 
question of garters versus hose suspenders. The 
latter, which have now almost superseded the former, 
are in my opinion neither pleasant to the eye nor agree- 
able to wear, and cause, moreover, a stilted motion of 
the leg. Besides, as thev hold up the stocking on one 
side onlv, the other side is apt to droop and roll itself 
up in a deplorable fashion. I am therefore an enthusi- lul 
astic advocate of the simple elastic garter, worn, I need 
not add, above the knee, and fastened with a buckle, 
which mav be extremely costly or perfectly plain, 
according to the taste of the wearer. One thing, 
however, must always be kept in mind with regard to 
garters, and that is, no matter how expensive to renew, 
thev should always be scrupulously fresh and clean, a 



l S7\ 



fringed-out or long-suffering garter being absolutely' 
disgraceful, even if enriched with the most magnificent] 
gems. In America there is a superstition about yellow 
garters being exceedingly lucky. I do not know how 
far the truth of this assertion goes, but I confess that] 
primrose garters clasped with topazes mounted in' 
burnished gold are a very attractive adjunct to the' 
feminine toilette. In my humble opinion, the prettiest 
of all garters are the black, ruched with Chantilly lace,| 
and fastened by a buckle made of tiny brilliants, for, 
wear with black silk hose, and garters of a shade toj 
match that of the stockings for the evening. A detail 
which should never be omitted is to sew a tiny sachet | 
in the inside of each garter. 

A few months ago the acme of chic consisted in the 
possession of a pair of garters made of a broad band of I 
soft pure gold elastic, with the words " Horn soit qui mal 
y pense " inscribed thereon in letters of sapphire andi 
brilliants. But this is so costly a fantaisie that the' 
fashion could not become general. A very pretty 
French marquise, who for years has been one oi 
Madame la Mode's most ardent leaders, secures her 
stockings with ruches of real flowers — tiny rosebuds, 
violets, or lilies-of-the-valley — the little blossoms being 
sewn twice a day by her maid on plain white silk elastic 
ribbons. This is certainly an exquisitely fragrant and 













% 






f^^===£^£=^siS 


nil 



i5 : 



GL 



dainty detail de toilette^ but is far from economical, 
and nobody but a very rich and recherche woman could 
afford to go in for such refinements. 

The greatest attraction of French women, belonging 
both to the higher and to the lower classes of society, 
is the extreme attention they give to the daintiness of 
their dessous. One might say of them that, like the 
Japanese, they make a practice of wearing all their 
finest and most costly garments inside, and those of 
inferior quality or condition outside. It is well- 
known that Japanese women wear a kimono^ or flowing 
robe, underneath all the others, made of the mos 
expensive and finest silk, richly embroidered with 
gorgeous blossoms ; whereas the two outer ones, which! 
complete their attire, are of far coarser and more com 
mon material. In Paris you will often see a little 1 
bourgeoises nay, even a grisette, tripping across the stree 
bareheaded and clothed in the simplest of black woollen 
dresses, but displaying the most immaculate and dainty 
petticoats and hosiery. Quite typical of the French 
ideas on this subject is the fact that in most trousseau 
ordered for marriages in the French grand-monde, the 1 
cost of the lingerie far exceeds that of the dresses, 
cloaks, etc., etc. In concluding this chapter, I canno 
refrain from describing the corbeille of a lovely girl 1 
belonein2_to the Parisian grand-monde. In__ tasteful 



LES DESSOUS 



1 S9i 




ness, expensiveness, in quality and quantity, I doubt 
if it was ever before equalled, even in the case of a 
royal or imperial princess, and altogether it goes far 
to show that in these days the question of dessous is 
even superior to that of dessus, and that in the same 
way that a magnificent gem is enhanced by appro-' 
priate setting, so too is lovely woman rendered still 
more lovely when she has at her disposal such treasures 
in lingerie and outer garments as those of this lucky 
bride. 

The exposition du trousseau, as such ceremonies an 
called in France, took place in the 'billiard-room at the 1 
fair fiancee 's residence. Great clusters of palms, white- 
blossomed azaleas, snow-balls, camellias, and orange- 
trees filled up the corners, while the billiard tables and 
several long stands draped with white velvet caught 
here and there with antique silver clasps, supported the 
countless items of the corbeille with the jewels and 
other wedding presents. In a broad, shallow box of pale, 
pink velvet mounted in silver were twelve yards each' 
of point d'Alencon, point d'Angleterre, and point de 
Bruges flounces, beside it another enriched with gold 
filagree over blue moire, and containing the same 
quantities of black Chantilly lace, black Venetian 
guipure, and of black application lace. The night' 
rahes were _q£— sheerest nettle=baliste irjinme<L*«it 



i6o 



EVE'S 



OSSARY 



plisses of Valenciennes lace, the monogram and coronet 
being embroidered in open needlework on the left side, 
over the heart. The little chemises were marvels of 
fineness, in silk lawn, with tiny garlands of myrtle, 
clover-blossoms, and buttercups done in floss silks 
around both neck and hem of this dainty little garment. 
The rest of the underwear was similar to the night 
robes, and there were twenty-four pairs of black silk 
lace-inserted stockings artistically arranged in a large 
basket of plaited silver. Among the peignoirs were three 
crepe-de-chine ones, respectively mauve, lemon, and 
cloud-gray in color, wonderfully blended with mother- 
of-pearl and silver, and a gorgeous robe-de-chambre of 
lettuce-green armure royale, entirely covered with rus- 
set-hued Venetian guipure. The bed and table-linen, 
sheets and pillow-cases, alike of the finest Dutch linen, 
inserted with guipure-de-Genes and adorned with the 
crests and coronets of the young couple in raised 
embroidery, the table-cloths and napkins, of heavy 
damask, bore superbly worked monograms in gold and 
crimson. 

Among the superb jewels I confine myself to the men- 
tion of a diamond collar and tiara of large fleur-de-lis pat- 
tern and a stomacher of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and 
diamonds, either of which would have befitted an empress. 
In an adjoining room the dresses, mantles, hats, bonnets, 



LES DESSOUS 



161 



slippers, shoes, jackets, coats, etc., were exhibited. Some 
of the frocks were thoroughly original in design, and bore 
the names of the most celebrated Parisian tailors. A 
neat walking dress was of green cloth made en princesse. 
The seams were defined at the back by Byzantine galons 
and rouleaux of velvet in a deeper shade of green than 
that of the cloth. The sleeves, too, were of velvet, 
and velvet formed the vest, also trimmed with galon, 
continuing to the hem of the skirt. A cape of Persian 
lamb and toque to correspond were to be worn with 
this costume. Among the dinner dresses were two of 
which no description can convey ah adequate idea. 
One was of pale mauve miroir velvet enhanced with 
most delicate embroidery in gold, silk, and colored 
beads, on white satin arranged as a tablier, and revers 
on the low bodice, which also had a Medici collarette. 
The material of the other was gauze of a pinkish lilac 
shade striped with satin. The skirt — en biais — was 
close-fitting, with a fan-shaped train ; it was orna- 
mented with two wide flounces of splendid white lace 
headed with a ruche of vert-Nil velvet, a line of gold 
galon going through it. The ceinture was also green 
velvet embroidered in gold. The bodice was low, with 
a velvet figaro trimmed profusely with lace, the revers 
of the figaro and the lace forming the sleeve. To be 
worn with this toilette were lilac silk stockings and satin 





EVE'S GLOSSARY 



shoes of the same shade, with an almost imperceptibl 
diamond bow. One of the loveliest ball dresses was 
of heavy ribbed satin striped with two shades of pink 
with a little black line going down each stripe ; close-' 
fitting skirt, with small gathers in front and large plaits 
at the back, a wide velvet ruche encircling the edge. 
The low corsage was pink with the exception of the 
upper part, which was of black velvet going round the 
shoulders and forming an epaulette over the pink puffs 
of the sleeves. The cloak to go with this was peluche 
argentee, lined and bordered with silver-fox fur, boa 
and fan being of shaded pink feathers. As for the vis 
iting toilettes, they were enough to induce infraction o 
the tenth commandment. One of them was in pale-l 
pink velvet made with demi-train bordered with sable ;j 
jacket bodice with square ends edged with the same fur. 
The boa and muff were to match, with a large bunc 
of roses on the muff. The capote was a little bit o\ 
crumpled velvet bordered with sable, and two black 
wings in front. To worthily finish this attractive de-, 
scription, I must mention a frock of blue Pekin striped! 
with green velvet, trimmed with bands of cocks' 
feathers round the skirt, basques of jacket, collars and, 
cuffs. A bonnet of green and blue arranged as an 1 
Alsatian bow, with an aigrette of emeralds and brilliants 
in the shape- of a ivxeJiLrd's tail. -A Inno- sealskjijyrn 





LES DESSOUS 



l6 3i 



tie, princesse-shaped and reaching down to the feet, 
lined with ruby plush, was accompanied by a muff and 
toque of the same costly fur ; while near by three mag- 
nificent Indian cashmere shawls reposed languidly in ai 
sandal-wood box inlaid with mother-of-pearl. An opera] 
cloak of exquisite design was carelessly thrown on a| 
blue brocaded lounge, which showed off to perfection 
the delicate coloring of this masterpiece of Parisian 
chic. It was composed of a rich material called 
,peau de velours, in alternate stripes of flesh-pink and 
palest willow-green, charmingly embroidered in sprigs! 
of apple-blossoms and wild clematis. All around the' 
edge was a roll of pink velvet twisted with silver cord 
and surmounted by a band of blue-fox fur. 

I must not dwell at length upon the travelling N 
cloaks, the numerous evening dresses, petticoats of silk 
and moire, satin and lace ; of the matinees, the ulsters, 
and the wrappers ; nor take note of the gold and 
silver dressing-cases, the umbrellas, the sunshades, the. 
fans, and what not else. Let it suffice to say that this' 
regal corbeille might well serve for any young bride of 
wealth and refinement who is anxious to begin her 
(married life surrounded by all the artillery of chic 
and fashion. ^ 



164 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 





CHAPTER X 

ACCESSORIES OF THE TOILETTE 

EVERY book written especially for women must 
needs include a few words about this delight and 
favorite toy of our sex, jewels ; and I must confess that 
this is a subject quite pleasant for me to discuss, for, 
like all other daughters of Eve, I am inordinately fond 
of jewels. Let me begin, however, by warning my 
readers most emphatically, whatever their station in 
life or their financial circumstances may be, against 
wearing imitation jewelry. Of all abominations 
invented by man, the latter is without doubt the most 
atrocious. Artificial flowers — although I do not like 
hem much — can yet be pretty to look at ; but a false 
gem, however good an imitation it may be, is bound 
to be vulgar, and it only deceives ignorance, as either a 
false diamond is what the jewellers called " backed," 
and then is immediately detected, or if set exactly as a 
real diamond, its transparency and lack of fire reveal at 
a glance its falsity. If a woman is not wealthy enough 
to own genuine gems, let her be satisfied with wearing 





THE TOILETTE 



some artistic gold or silver ornaments which will at any 
rate possess the merit of honesty and good taste ; but 
let her beware of decking herself with cheap and tawdry 
articles which are quite sufficient to give her a thoroughly 
unladylike appearance. 

Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and sapphires 
have been supplied to the world by India since the 
fugitive children of Israel offered to Jehovah " stones 
to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate of judg- 
ment." And from time immemorial the possession of 
fine jewels has been the pet wish of almost every woman 
who knows what a jewel is. It is a well-known fact 
that it is from India that the most beautiful gems are 
derived ; and the Empress of India, Queen Victoria, 
receives every year by treaty an offering of the finest 
gems discovered in that country. 

Indian jewellers are also renowned for the exquisite 
workmanship of their settings, and this leads me to 
remark that it by no means suffices for a stone to be 
large and lustrous in order to be a covetable possession 
for a woman of refinement. Much depends on the 
way in which it is mounted; and I have seen some 
really valuable jewels which looked so painfully vulgar 
that I could not help being amazed that a woman 
wealthy enough to purchase them should be so lacking 
in taste and knowledge of what is really appropriate as to 





how to wear them. Moreover, there are diamonds and 
diamonds, as there are cabbages and cabbages ! Noth- 
ing can be more beautiful than a white, old-mine stone, 
but the mere mention of these yellowish, dull CapeJ 
stones, whatever their size and weight may be, which 
one unfortunately sees so often in the ears and on the 1 
fingers of the nouveaux riches, causes me to sh udder q/f/A 
with horror. I agree with that French grande dame whol 
used to say that it was far better to possess one perfect 
gem than a basketful of indifferent jewelry, and who 
proved one day that she meant what she said, by ex- 
changing a whole lot of jewels which she had inheritec 
from an aunt for a solitaire diamond of surpassing 
beauty, size, and color, which has never left her fingerj 
since. Some years ago the diamond used to rank as 
the first among precious stones, but of late it has been! 
superseded by the ruby, which is every day becominj 
rarer and consequently of greater value. A fine ruby is^ 
indeed a thing of beauty, but its great drawback is that 
it will not suit every color of dress. I well rememberj 
once seeing a very eccentric Russian princess who ha( 
dared to don a bright blue satin gown while wearing a| 
magnificent collection of huge rubies. The effect was] 
deplorable ; for the bright red of the stones absolutely! 
killed the otherwise pretty and elegant toilette. 

[ewellers classify egms as_ follows : ruby, diamondj 



T 



167 



wsm/f/m 



sapphire, emerald, pearl, turquoise, amethyst, aqua- 
marine, tourmaline, coral, lapis-lazuli, and all varieties 
of agate, amongst which there are some charming pale 
tints which, when set in dull gold, harmonize beautifully 
with the soft hues so fashionable in late years for 
dresses. When choosing a wedding present, a great! 
many people are at a loss to know what to select, and it 
is for their guidance that I mention a very pretty Rus- 
sian superstition, which is attached to the gift of certain 
precious stones according to the month in which the 
'recipient is born : — 



January, 


Diamond. * 


February, 


Amethyst. 


March, 


Ruby. 


April, 


Moonstone. 


May, 


Agate. 


June, 


Emerald. 


July, 


Black pearls. 


August, 


Sapphire. 


September, 


Turquoise. 


October, 


Topaz. 


November, 


CatVeye. 


December, 


White pearls 



The ruby is synonymous with courage and loyalty ;i 
the diamond with innocence ; the sapphire with purity 5] 
the emerald is the emblem of happy love; the topa z, 





EVE'S GLOSSARY 



f .'i 






~wV 



L^i^. 



^S-M^ 



SIB 



s^- 



that of prosperity ; the turquoise is symbolic of friend' 
ship and tenderness ; and the pearl, of youth. From the 
oldest time the Latin races attributed to precious stones 
the faculty 7 of giving health, beauty, riches, honor, hap- 
piness, good luck, etc., to their wearers. The earliest 
way of wearing gems was to bore a hole through them 
as we now do with pearls, and to hang them around the 
neck, arms, ankles, etc. The ancients were rarely 
without their birth-stone, whether thev wore it openly 
or concealed about their person. In Russia, supersti- 
tious mothers touch their new-born babies with a ruby, 
for, as the old saying goes, u Whoever is touched by 
a ruby is safe from lightning, storm, and madness." 

THE CARE OF JEWELS 

Pearls should be worn as much as possible bv their 
owners, as when locked up for any length of time in 
their cases, they are not only liable to lose their orient, 
but to " die " altogether, excepting when precautions 
are taken to place in the casket containing them a few 
pieces of ash-tree root, which preserves them from 
change. The pearl is perhaps the most difficult gem 
to purchase, as its entire value consists of what is called 
its " orient, " " skin," or " color," and it is advisable 
for those desirous of acquiring some pearls to be accom- 



3*V 



m 



§//.• 






:■ iX, 



£X? 



-TiV 



1 



WA 



fe5K ; 






:/. 






THE TOILETTE 



169 



panied by a connoisseur when making their selection. 
Jewellers call the round pearl " button," and the irregular,; 
or pear-shaped one, " baroque." 

In order to clean diamonds, they must be brushed 
softly with soap suds to which a little ammonia has been 
added, then washed well in cold water, after which 
they are dipped into the purest alcohol, whence they 
are placed one by one in boxwood sawdust which has 
been previously heated, stirring each piece of jewelry 
round vigorously until the sawdust has absorbed the 
alcohol. Place them on a clean piece of paper and 
dust lightly with a soft, long-bristled' brush until every 
speck of sawdust is removed. Never clean precious 
stones over a wash-stand connected with the house- 
plumbing, as you may have occasion to regret the 
unaccountable disappearance of some valuable stone 
dislodged from its setting by the brush. Colored 
stones, such as rubies, sapphires, etc., can be cleansed: 
like diamonds, with the exception of turquoises and 
cat's-eyes, which, when beginning to lose their lustre, 
should be treated thus : Take a small quantity of] 
putty on a piece of chamois-leather, dampen it slightly, 
and rub the stone gently. Then dip it in some finely 
pulverized chalk, finish off by washing in soap and 
water and drying with soft chamois leather. When 
gold or silver jewelry has become either tarnished or 



170 



GL 



oxydized, wash it in a weak solution of potash water, 
rinse, then immerse in table salt, 1 part; alum, 1 
[part ; saltpetre, 2 parts ; water, 4 parts. Do not pro- 
long this bath for more than five minutes. Rinse in 
:old water and dry off with a piece of chamois. Some- 
times even this is not sufficient thoroughly to renovate 
silver jewelry which has become completely blackened 
iby age, in which case dip it in a solution of 1 part 
[sulphuric acid to 40 parts of water. As to ivory, it 
can be whitened most beautifully by rubbing it with a 
[solution of peroxide of hydrogen, or by the less expen- 
sive way of placing it in hot water and then rubbing! 
with dry bi-carbonate of soda, rinsing in cold water. 

The various accessories of the toilette are becoming 1 
1 yearly more luxurious, and a great deal more is really! 
tspent for them than for gowns, bonnets, or hats. The 
'prosaic umbrella has become a veritable objet (Tart, the) 
handle being either of gold, silver, or rock crystal, 
Encrusted with pearls and turquoises, or, at the very 
ileast, of dark or yellow tortoise-shell beautifully carved 
or even inlaid. Sunshade handles are made of violet- 1 
wood or sandal, adorned with ladybirds, bees, wasps, or 
[even spiders of pink coral, lapis-lazuli, and fine enamel, 
>r yet of Saxe porcelain representing a crooked stick 
|on which are perched either a string of swallows, a 
little parrot scratching its wee h^acL or even_a_miniaj 



T 



I 7 1 l 



ture monkey munching at an apple. As to toilette sets, 
their name is legion, the newest being of aluminum 
with gold or gem monograms. Of course, if one 
wants to go in for something very fine and expensive,] 
nothing can be more beautiful than gold-mounte< 
rock crystal with raised monograms in brilliants and! 
topazes, brilliants and amethysts, or brilliants and 
turquoises. 

Fans, which have now come again to the front, are 
made in every color and tissue in order to correspond 
with the varying hue of dress. A very pretty one for/ 
small dinner-parties is a white or black gauze with| 
showers of hand-painted flowers over which hovers a1 
flight of butterflies or small birds. For balls and offi-J 
cial receptions this genre would be passing simple, and! 
should be replaced either by the large white or black 
marabout feather fan mounted in smoked pearl with! 
jewelled monogram, or by the most beautiful of all, 
the real lace fan mounted in yellow tortoise-shell and j 
incrusted with diamonds. It is a good plan to keej 
one's fans in a large flat box upholstered with per- 
fumed satin, separating them from one another by flat 
sachets, thus communicating to them a delightful 
fragrance which it is a pleasure to inhale in the heated! 
atmosphere in which a fan is generally carried. This! 
ought also to be done with laces, both real and imita- 



GLOSSARY 



tion, the black ones, however, being kept separate from 
the white or russet. Black laces which have become 
slightly rusty can be completely renovated by rolling 
them carefully on a piece of wood or on a square 
piece of glass which has previously been covered with 
flannel, and then dipping them in ale, or in cold water 
mixed with strong vinegar. Unroll them gently and 
iron them between two pieces of black muslin, taking 
care that the iron should not be too hot. To clean 
white laces, you must also roll them in the same 
fashion as you do the black. Put them in an enamelled 
saucepan filled with weak soap-water. Iron them, 
while still damp, between two soft napkins. Russet 
and ecru laces, after being washed, are plunged into a 
light infusion of tea or coffee, according to the depth] 
of color desired. Very valuable antique laces must' 
be sewn in a small bundle and soaked for twenty-four 
hours in olive oil, then placed in a linen bag which is 
allowed to boil for five minutes in a thick solution of 
castile-soap water. Rinse the bag without opening it 
in several tepid waters, then immerse in water where 
some tragacanth gum has been dissolved. When this 
is done, remove the lace from the bag and pin it with 
the utmost care on a board covered with white linen. 
Iron under a layer of canton flannel. I must caution 
my readers against attempting to mend valuable lace 




THE TOILETTE 



73 



themselves. This intricate and delicate piece of work 
must be confided to the hands of specialists, for it is 
too risky to endanger so valuable a fabric by domestic 
efforts. 

White satin or kid slippers and white gloves are 
cleaned by rubbing them with a piece of cotton wool 
dipped in ether, and then by brushing them over with a 
very soft beaver brush dipped in pulverized Spanish 
whiting. White felt hats can be treated in the same 
fashion. Here is an excellent recipe for washing 
black silk stuffs. Melt in an earthenware basin 8 
ounces of white honey, 5 ounces black soft-soap, and 
quart of corn brandy. Keep the mixture warm in 
steaming saucepan j place the silk which requires 
enovation on a clean table and carefully rub every 
art of the stuff" with a brush charged with this prepara- 
lon. When this is done, dip each piece separately in 
a tub of cold water, avoiding either rubbing or squeez- 
ing the material. When thoroughly rinsed, hang the 
silk on a rope until partly dry. Then iron on the 
wrong side with a moderately warm iron. If you wish 
to remove grease stains from velvet, take a hot slice of 
toast and place it over the stain. This will be gener- 
ally successful ; but if not, put the soiled place with the 
wrong side against the iron, covering the velvety sur- 
face with tissue paper, the heat of the iron melting the 




EVE'S GLOSSARY 



£3 wax or grease, which will be entirely absorbed by the 
^v tissue paper. 

Moths will be kept away from furs by hanging the 
'latter in a closet lined throughout with tar-paper, and 
1 where sachets containing walnut-tree leaves, cloves, and 
stick sulphur have been placed. It goes without say- 
! I m §^ however, that the furs must be beaten and well 
[shaken several times during the summer. 



/A 



vii 



HOME 



I 75 i 



CHAPTER XI 



A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN S HOME 



THE question of the " nest " is fully as important 
to a truly elegant woman as is that of clothes 
|& and beautifiers ; and when I say " nest," I do not mean 
// merely the more personal boudoir^ or sleeping-room, but] 
also every nook and corner of the House. Itis_Jj£m' 
the way-4n- whichour entire home is arranged thj 
people can judge not only the amount of taste which! 
we possess, but our very innermost nature. A woman' 
of refinement and delicacy will naturally — whatever 
her social position or her financial situation — sur-] 
round herself with pleasing objects gracefully arranged 
and especially characterized by the most scrupulous 
cleanliness. Womanly influence should be felt in| 
every detail, from the artistic draping of a curtain to 
the coloring of a pincushion, the grouping of cut 
flowers, or the folding of the dinner napkins. There 
are half a hundred small " nothings " easy to make 
or to procure, and very inexpensive, which yet won-l 
der juHy im prove the homelike asne ct of_a househo.k 



.1 76 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



and which are in themselves sufficient to denote the 
interest taken by the lady of the house in her menage. 
lit is not by any means always the wealthiest establish- 
ments that are the best furnished, and I have frequently 
seen comparatively humble dwellings which delighted 
every sense of comfort and every artistic inclination of 
[the on-looker. I propose to give a few hints as to the 
manner in which the principal rooms of a moderately 
[large house should be furnished and decorated, steering 
.clear of too much luxury as also of too great parsi- 
smony. In France, women whose income is moderate 
use their bedroom during the day as a kind of boudoir ; 
and this accounts for the well-known saying that a 
Parisienne's sleeping apartment is invariably more luxu- 
rious than an Englishwoman's drawing-room. But 
even when money is no object, and when the mistress 
of the house can afford to have an entire suite for her 
■ own personal use, including boudoir , dressing-room, 
bath, and separate library, yet her bedchamber ought 
always to be the best-feathered corner — if I may 
thus express myself — of her entire domain. Is it not, 
par excellence, the casket made to contain the pearl, — a 
peaceful, fragrant retreat wherein she is certain to 
remain undisturbed, and where she can occasionally 
retire when tired or out of sorts, without fear of intru- 
sion on the part of other members of the family ? 



MMti 



A WOMAN'S HOME 



177 



Even the husband should not be allowed to treat his 
wife's sleeping apartment as if it were conquered ter- 
ritory, or to enter it unbidden, — alas ! as is too often 
the case, with his hat on his head and perhaps a cigar 
in his mouth. It is oftener than one imagines just 
such a lack of decorum between husband and wife that 
creates or precipitates matrimonial dissensions. Among 
the poorer classes, where, for want of space, husband, 
[wife, and children are forced to crowd together into one 
or two tiny rooms, like so many herrings in a tub, the 
famous proverb about familiarity breeding contempt 
>has fair playj and the result of this deplorable state of 
-afFairs is that love flies away through the cracked ceil- 
fing and leaves nothing behind but disgraceful squabbles 
'and subsequent blows. Let us who have been blessed 
with the possibility of so doing, maintain a little poetry 
land delicacy in our conjugal relations by the observance 
of these many little courtesies and politesses du cceur^ 
which are the " small change " of good breeding. And 
now that I have moralized to my heart's content, let 
us proceed with our planning out of a comfortable and 
at the same time elegant bedroom. 



THE BEDROOM 

I must begin by warning my fair readers against en- 
cumbering the walls, bed, windows, and doors with too 



i 7 8 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



many curtains, portieres, etc. The craze for heavy an< 
profuse plush draperies, and endless knickknacks oi 
more than questionable taste, has died a natural death, 
and fashionable women now adopt a far more classical 
and simple style of decoration throughout their homes. 
For this let us praise the Fates, as such an abnormal 
quantity of drapery was a microbe-breeding death-trap, 
even when the utmost care and cleanliness were ob- 
served. Wool, plush, or velvet, should be strictly ban-V\u 
ished from the bedroom, not alone because thes 
materials are too heavy in appearance, but also o 
account of the all-important question of germs, whic 
they readily harbor. Smooth-faced linen or silke 
stuffs are far preferable, more pleasing to the eye, an 
should therefore be adopted in preference to any others 
Here is the description of a typical bedroom, that o 
a young French duchess, which is a marvel of daint 
luxury. It is octagonal in shape, and contains three 
windows. Walls and ceilings are covered with a 
highly-glazed silk of a pearly shot hue, varying fro 
pale-pink to delicate willow-green. Curtains of th 
same material, lined with pale sea-shell pink taffetas, 
hang down in straight folds on each side of the win 
dows and doors. The gondola-shaped bed, the lounges,' 
armchairs, and chairs are of dull ebony wood inlai 







A 



OMA 



HOM 



171 



green shot silk ; and in one corner — the duchess is 
devoted to music — stands an old spinnet of the fif- 
teenth century inlaid by Martin Pacher of Brauneck. 
A pale-green Smyrna carpet, powdered with a design o 
pink and lilac sea-anemones, covers the floor, and poin 
d'Alencon blinds lined with pink taffetas tone dow 
the glaring daylight. The high mantelpiece is o 
superbly carved black marble surmounted by a Venetian 
mirror which reflects the nodding blossoms of an onyx, 
silver-mounted jardiniere filled daily with pale-green 
and pale-pink odorless orchids. Of course, such a bed 
room can only be enjoyed by a very wealthy woman 
but still the idea might be carried out to suit a fa 
lighter purse than that of the Petite Duchesse, as she i 
called in Paris. There is a material called linen taf- 
feta, or toile de 'Jouiy, obtainable at any first-class" 
dry-goods store in beautiful colors and designs, whic 
might be used instead of silk. The furniture would 
be very pretty if made of Indian bamboo, light oak, or 
pitchpin, upholstered in the same material, and the man 
telpiece in this case would look well if it were in cor- 
responding wood surmounted by a plain crystal square 
jardiniere containing small ferns and pink cyclamens. 

It is impossible to deny that even the most luxuri 
ously appointed European or American houses ar 
never one-half_as comfortable to live in as are the 





homes of Oriental people of high degree. It is im- 
possible to conceive anything more barbarous than the 
ordinary dining-room chairs, which are usually the most 
uncomfortable in the entire establishment. A mo- 
ment's thought will suffice for anybody to realize how 
unfeasible it is to appreciate the merits of culinary 

hefs-d'ceuvre if seated on an uncomfortable chair j for 
instance, one of those abominations with straight, high, 
narrow backs and equally narrow and hard ledges. 
Strange as it may appear, I must confess that I prefer 
the Oriental method of dining in a recumbent position 
with my legs on a level with the remainder of my body. 
The position of the body when seated in a chair is 
neither natural nor healthy, and is bound to cause the 
blood to concentrate itself in the lower portion of the 
legs and to send it coursing to the head by way of 
restoring normal circulation. No better illustration of 
the evil effect of a sitting position at meals can be 
found than in the prevalence of gout among those 
noted for sitting the longest over their dinner ; namely, 

he English. A lady to whom I was propounding 
these theories a few days ago put forward the objec- 
tion that recumbent attitudes, although possible when 
arrayed in Oriental garb, were rendered exceedingly 
difficult by the exigencies — may I add the exiguity — 
of the dress imposed upon the women of the world by 



A WOMAN'S HOME 



181 



the famous couturiers of Paris. In this she-was mis- 
taken, for most of the wealthy Levantines and a great 
many harem women of high rank obtain all their 
gowns from Paris nowadays, and their dresses invari- 
ably represent le dernier cri de la mode. And yet they 
never seem to prevent their wearers from lounging on 
huge divans with their feet not on the floor, but on the 
cushions beside them, in attitudes that constitute the 
quintessence of graceful ease and repose. As an 
illustration thereof, I would cite Her Excellency 
Madame Nubar Pacha, the Armenian wife of the 
most famous Oriental statesman of -the age. She is 
no longer young, and she is not beautiful, but she is 
wonderfully graceful and stately. Graceful in her 
every movement, she is delightfully so when seated on 
a broad, low divan smoking a papilletto, with her feet 
on the cushion at her side. I am at a loss to describe 
just how she manages to curl herself up in this peculiar 
yet charming manner. I can only describe the result, 
which is eminently pretty, and conveys the impression 
of the most perfect ease and comfort. 

The philosophy of chairs is a science that has not 
yet, so far as I can see, been explored to any extent 
in America. Hardly anywhere does one meet with a 
very low, very deep, very broad, and delightfully soft 
armchair with the back sloping just enough to rest 





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every portion of the body when reclining in it. Chairs I 
such as this are to be found in every well-equipped 
English or French household, and contribute mate- 
rially to the maintenance of the equanimity and imper-< 
turbability of our temper. It is simply impossible to 
retain any vestige of ill-humor when thus seated, and 
the most wooden-jointed and awkward of individuals 1 
^will unconsciously lapse into a pose of graceful ease| 
when ensconced in one of these exquisitely comfortable 
armchairs. 

THE BOUDOIR 

A pretty French marquise, who reigns over one o: 
the best-regulated households in Paris, has caused herj 
boudoir to be furnished entirely a Vorientale. The walls | 
are painted a deep soft crimson, and are covered from 
floor to ceiling with superb latticed Moucharabieh wood-| 
work. All round the room runs a broad low divan, 
upholstered in heavy Persian silk cashmere thickly 
embroidered with tender-hued silks, gold and silver 
threads, and strands of burnished red copper. This 
divan is littered by big and small square cushions filled 
with the softest down, encased in embroidery, lace, silk, 
foulard, Turkish gauze, etc. The three windows of 
this poetical retreat open upon a balcony, which has 
been transformed by screens and colonn ades of fr ett( 





'»3 




cedar-wood into a perfect semblance of a Cairene- 
arem patio, seen through the wrong end of an opera- 
lass, as it is only eighteen feet long by ten broad. 
Great brass perfume-burners and hanging mosque 
•lamps add to the far-eastern illusion produced by this 
tout ensemble; and the finishing touches are given by 
silken hangings, low inlaid stools, and carved cabinets 
of sandal and lime wood, glittering with mother-of-pearl 
and turquoises, — rare bits of furniture, for which the 
marquise sent all the way to Cairo and Constantinople, 
hat they should be absolutely genuine. 

A boudoir being par excellence the unconventional 
Icorner of a house, the proprietress 'thereof can give 
full swing to her imagination regardless of hard and 
fast rules. I will therefore pass on to a description of 
a hall or ante-room selon mon cceur. This apartment, 
being the first which one enters in either house or flat, 
should be fully as carefully and prettily furnished as 
the others. But of course much depends on its size 
and shape. In the case of a large hall, especially when 
it opens on one of those double Dutch staircases which 
have of late years become so fashionable for both town 
and country residences, it should be very luxuriously 
furnished. The hall and staircase should be carpeted, 
let us say in dark blue or crimson velvet pile, and the 
arched recesses of the staircase filled in either with 





5rSS35S«^ 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 





bronze caryatides, supporting on their head great 
Satsuma or bronze vases wherein are palms or flower- 
ing shrubs, or again with square boxes of Delft also con- 
taining plants. In the hall, between the two branches 
of the staircase, a bronze fountain with a miniature jet 
of water, falling in sparkling sprays on a bank of aquatic 
plants, adds greatly to the beauty of the decoration. 
Along the walls, divans covered with dark blue or 
crimson sixteenth-century brocade, flecked with gold or 
silver, should be placed ; while the middle of this beau- 
tiful antechamber should be occupied by a huge square 
table of carved dark-colored wood, whereon two gigantic 
dishes of rare china and a Venetian vase for cut flowers 
stand. For a small and unostentatious hall, the walls 
should be covered with some dark cloth bordered with 
wooden baguettes, the furniture consisting of an oblong 
table, an umbrella and hat stand surmounted by a 
mirror, a couple of high-backed chairs, and a jardiniere 
supporting a few green plants, whilst the carpet is in 
corresponding colors to that of the wall drapery, cur- 
tains, and portieres. A brass lantern should hang from 
the ceiling, and, if desirable, a few trophies of arms 
can brighten the walls. Of the library, writing-rooms, 
studios, etc., I will say nothing, for these apartments 
must be left entirely to the individual taste of the 
master and mistress of the house. It would be im- 





A WOMAN'S HOME 



18? 



possible for me to lay down the law in so far as they are' 
concerned. The dressing-room and bath-room I have] 
described in the opening chapters, and I am now at 
liberty to sketch the two pieces de resistance of house 
or flat; namely, the drawing- and dining-rooms. 



THE DRAWING-ROOM 

Like the bedroom, the drawing-room must at a I 
glance reveal the taste and refinement possessed by the 
mistress of the house. There are very few really well- 
understood and daintily furnished drawing-rooms, for 
even when a great deal of money has been expended] 
on furniture, — nay, even on art treasures, — most of] 
them are wont to betray the vulgarity which is the 
besetting sin of our age. Thirty years ago the most 
punctilious of mondaines was satisfied with a yellow, 
red, or blue drawing-room, where everything was of thej 
same color and where the furniture was stiffly disposed' 
around the walls in utter disregard of all artistic rules. 
To-day a really elegant drawing-room must give the 
impression of being half a museum and half a conserva-| 
tory. It is filled with costly bric-a-brac brought from 
every part of the world, hung with priceless pictures, and 
decorated by upholsterers who are fully entitled to pose 
as artists. In this fad for curios lies, however, the 





snare for those unwary beings who, without possessing 

the means to gratify their longings, yet attempt to 
ubstitute for the genuine objets cPart for which they pine 
lot of cheap and tawdry knickknacks and draperies 
ought mostly at some great dry-goods emporium, which, 
ithout deceiving anybody as to their actual value, 

create a most distressing impression of one's being ush- 
red into a dentist's waiting-room or the parlor of some 
econd-rate boarding-house. Moreover, it by no means 

^suffices that a vase, a statue, or a cabinet should have 
:ome from India, China, Japan, or Egypt for these 
lecorative pieces to have a real value ; for one must still 

be sufficiently a connoisseur to distinguish the genuine 

^article from the thousand and one bits of crockery, 

ivory, bronze, or wood which are manufactured by the 

rross in the far East for what is called there u the 

European market." I will classify in the same category 

jthe more or less spurious imitations of antique furniture 
ritri which we have been deluged ever since the time 
'hen Louis XIV., Louis XV., and Louis XVI. styles, 
Ireton sideboards, and Dutch credences came into 

fashion. Beautiful and refined as the models undoubt- 
edly are, the copies are painfully undeceptive, for they 
exaggerate, so to speak, every defect of these different 
>eriods, and involuntarily remind one of stage furniture 

(meant onlyto dazzle the eye_ without captivating the 





187 



taste. It must not be forgotten that, in the days to 
which I have just referred, a workman, whether sculptor 
or cabinet-maker, thought nothing of devoting the 
efforts of many weary days, weeks, and even months 
to the production of one chair, one table, or one consol.j 
Now everything is done by machine, wood is stamped] 
with a given design and then sawn by steam-power, and 
anybody wishing to procure hand-made carvings must 
be ready to pay an absolutely exorbitant price for it. 
I am therefore of the opinion that, excepting when 
money is absolutely no object, a trulv refined woman, 
should confine herself to such a class of furniture as can] 
be bought from conscientious dealers who would scruple 
to palm ofF on their customers bogus antiquities or loud, 
meubles of which they will become thoroughly wearyl 
after possessing them for six months. 

A very tasteful and pretty arrangement for a drawing- 
room, when the lady of the house does not wish to 
spend a small fortune thereon, is to have the walls and 
ceiling draped with some of this delightful, soft-toned, 
antique-looking cretonne which is easily obtainable 
at any first-class upholsterer's. Let us, for instance, 
suppose that this cretonne is of a mellow ivory hue, 
the design in old rose, delineated by a clever hand with, 
a slim gold cord. Instead of the humdrum and ever 
commonplace-looking gas chandelier, which vulgarizes 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




the prettiest room, a pendant of Venetian glass repre- 
senting clusters of morning-glories in pale-pink and blue, 
should hang from the centre of the ceiling, each pink 
flower containing a blue candle and -vice-versa. Beware, 
above all things, of the stilted sofas and armchairs which 
most upholsterers take a fiendish delight in recommend- 
ing to you, and order a couple of graceful lounges, three 
or four low armchairs, an ottoman, and some piles of 
cushions to be made for you. They can either be 
upholstered in the gold-delineated cretonne or be made 
of silk in harmonizing colors. In such a drawing-room 
I would not put a carpet on the floor, but conceal the 
latter under one of those exquisitely fine rice-straw 
Japanese mats painted with strange birds and exotic 
flowers. A table — for there must be a table — 
although this is rarelv a graceful adjunct, should be of 
violet wood, lacquered bamboo, or, if the top notch of 
elegance is to be attained, of ebonv, richlv engraved and 
inlaid with mother-of-pearl, ivorv, and copper. On 
the mantelpiece, in lieu of that abomination of desola- 
tions, a clock and accompanving candelabra, a handsome 
statue of Florentine bronze or of terra-cotta, signed bv 
some well-known master, should be placed, backed 
either bv green palms and ferns or bv vases of scrupu- 
lously fresh-cut flowers. If reallv good pictures seem 
too expensive, abstain from hanging anv on vour walls, 



- y r> 







A WOMAN'S HOME 



and replace them by a few perfect etchings, or water- 
colors above reproach. If this description should 
appear too simple, I will add thereto a few words about 
the salon of a well-known Austrian great lady who is 
renowned throughout Europe for her exquisite and 
original taste. This salon is also draped, ceiling and 
walls alike, with soft, shimmering, willow-green silk 
embossed with silver unicorns. In the centre of the 
room stands a round ottoman, from the centre of which 
emerges a gigantic, flute-shaped vase of rock crystal 
filled summer and winter with superb long-stemmed- 
cut flowers. The grand piano of marqueterie is partly 
concealed by an artistically draped altar-front of cloth 
of silver fastened here and there by authentic old minia- 
tures rimmed with pearls, the high, white-marble man- 
telpiece being decorated in the same fashion and 
surmounted by a unique group of nymphs carved by 
Clodion, which emerges from a mass of flowering 
plants. All the seats in this ideal room are low and 
inviting. The floor is covered by a marvellous faint- 
green Aubusson rug, whereon wreaths of Bengal roses 
and of apple-blossoms are scattered in a thoroughly 
unconventional design. At night light is afforded by 
several silver hanging lamps shaded by antique lace 
over almond-green silk. 



190 



EV 



GL 



THE DINING-ROOM 



Let us now cast a look on the dining-room as it 
I should be. I need not say that it must be thoroughly 
in keeping with the drawing-room as far as luxuriousness 
is concerned. Otherwise your house would look like 
,one of those walls painted to represent a gorgeous stone | 
colonnade or some other pompous architectural design, 
but which are only intended to conceal the poverty of. 
whatever lies behind them ; and the visitor who, after 
having admired the beauty of your salon, would b( 
suddenly ushered into a painfully contrasting dining-^ 
room, would form but a poor opinion of your breeding.] 
To continue this simile, I may add that when every! 
room in a house is not in keeping with one another, this! 
is as much a fault of education, I would almost say/ 
principle, as if a woman donned an elaborate silk dress' 
over some plain, cheap, and ill-cared-for underclothing. 
It must be borne in mind that a dining-room decoration] 
should be as much as possible dark and magnificent 
rather than light and cheery, for in this instance thej 
table being the object (rather like an altar where thej 
daily sacrifices are offered), it is necessary that th< 
surroundings of this nucleus should not intrench^ 
through Jno. glaring ^an ornamentation uponjts bril- 





A WOMAN'S HOME 



191J 



liancy. It goes without saying that hand-carved wains-' 
cotings and Gobelin tapestries are what suit a dining- 
room best; but as most people cannot afford to go in 
for such costly furnishings, I would suggest high oak, 
pear, or ebony wainscotings topped by panels of Spanisl 
embossed leather and finished off with a dado of eithei 
dark crimson, royal blue, or Russian-green velvet fur-^ 
nished with a narrow wooden shelf, whereon is disposed 
a collection of old Delft, Satsuma, or Hungarian dishes, 
plaques, and platters. This will be quite sufficiently! 
elaborate, especially if your sideboards boast a certaii 
amount of plate. Naturally, the table, sideboards, ant 
high-backed chairs must invariably be of the sam< 
wood as the wainscoting. Round tables have gone 
entirely out of fashion and have been completely super- 
seded by square ones. I have seen in my day many 
a handsome dining-room, but I cannot remember an] 
which could compare with the great dining-hall in 
Prince Dondoukow-Korssakow's Castle of Polonaja. 
in Russia. The prince was an old friend of mine, an< 
many are the beautiful banquets which I have witnessed! 
in this beautiful apartment panelled in oak and hung 
with Gobelin tapestries of inestimable value. Soj 
grandiose in fact was this hall that it was not use( 
excepting on state occasions ; and when we were onlj 
lall hmisp nart-v fhp meals were served in a_miich^ 



192 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



smaller room disposed like a winter-garden, where 
camellias and azaleas, orange trees and mimosa bushes, 
I formed fragrant bowers of blossoms and verdure. At 
either end of this pretty salle a manger there was a 
fountain of pink marble with carved basins filled with 
blossoming water-lilies, among which goldfish swam, 
md the marble columns supporting the roof were 
garlanded with purple and white passion-flowers. The 
stable was always set in Louis XVI. fashion, the service 
: of old Meissen china of a pale-pink hue, and Watteau 
[figures of the same priceless ware upheld large shells 
containing flowers, fruit, and bonbons in superb profu- 
sion. This room, which was, however, in an entirely 
; different style from the one which I advocated in the 
! beginning of this chapter, formed, nevertheless, a truly 
charming picture, the table littered with Venetian glass 
;and gold plate, the wines sparkling in their fantastically 
.shaped Grecian ewers and Bohemian jugs, the pretty 
'women with diamonds glittering on their white throats 
and in their hair, all grouped among the blossoming 
plants. In one word, everything looked like an eigh- 
teenth-century picture, and made one think of Versailles 
and Trianon. But this can only be considered in the 
I ) light of a millionaire's fantasy, and can therefore not be 
used as a model for any of my readers excepting for the 
very wealthy ones whose circumstances permit them to 



A WOMAN'SHO 



J 93 



satisfy their every caprice. Let me add that people 
even in the humblest of circumstances can render their 
dining-room both attractive and pleasant to inhabit by 
the use of a little judgment in its decoration and fur- 
nishing. For instance, what can be at the same time 
cheaper and prettier than a papering of plain Pompeian 
red, relieved by a four- foot wainscoting of equally plain 
cherry wood matching the table, chairs, and unostenta- 
tious sideboard ? Curtains of red military cloth and a 
red ingrain rug on the floor will complete this " natty " 
tout ensemble, which can be enhanced by a few chastely 
framed engravings and a jardiniere or two, filled with 
homelike ferns and plants. 

A point on which I will be inexorable, however, is 
the table linen, which must always be of snowy white- 
ness and as dainty as if fairies alone had touched it. 
The wealthy are able to indulge in rare china and 
dazzling cut-glass, Baccarat or crystal ; but it is within 
the reach of all housekeepers who take to heart the 
internal arrangements of their homes to afford neat, 
well-laundered, and prettily disposed tablecloths and 
napkins. 



13 



194 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



CHAPTER XII 



PLEASURES OF THE TABLE 



MODERN housekeepers do not as a rule suffi-| 
ciently realize that the kitchen and dining-room 
departments are altogether too completely abandoned to< 
,the supervision of menials, who, not being endowed 
with the same sense of refinement and taste which most 
educated people possess, are absolutely incapable oi 
attaining unalloyed success in either of these impor-j 
tant features of the household. The very best of cooks 
( and butlers require the master's eye cast daily upon 1 
'their work, and it is an egregious mistake to suppose 
that there is anything derogatory in looking personally 
into these seemingly distasteful matters. I can assure 
|my readers that Europe's greatest ladies consider it by, 
no means an unpleasant duty to do so. Empress Eliza-| 
beth of Austria, who is one of the noblest and most 
1 perfect specimens of lovely womanhood that it has ( 
(been my fortunate lot to know, invariably comes down 
every Monday morning when in Vienna, Godollo, or 
Schonhr urtn and -Strolls, thrrmo-h the* Iritrhpng .and sti 



PLEASURES OF THE TABLE 195 



rooms in order to see that everything is going on as it 
should. Nay, the question of cuisine is of so great an 
importance that it naturally finds its place in a work 
devoted to woman's beauty, health, and comfort. " Tell 
me what you eat, and I '11 tell you who you are," wrote 
Brillat-Savarin ; and I feel impelled to emphasize 
this common-sense saying by adding that upon our 
alimentation both our physical and moral state almost 
entirely depend. 

The art of eating well has become almost extinct in 
our century, which is one of hurry and scurry, and 
there are now very few places left in the length and 
breadth of the civilized world where a really good 
cuisine can be enjoyed. Even the French, who are 
born gourmets^ are gradually lapsing into the most 
deplorable carelessness in this respect. Under the 
reign of Louis XIV., the kitchen and its numerous 
dependencies were considered the most important part 
of the house. Indeed, the way in which these gastro- 
nomical laboratories were furnished and decorated would 
give our modern epicure food for mournful reflection ; 
for they were very far from resembling the skimpy, 
uncomfortable, and ill-planned basements which the 
householders of the present day do not hesitate to 
devote to the culinary department of their homes. At 
that_period cookinajitgnsils wprp veritabl e wor ks 



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EVE'S GLOSSARY 



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and historv mentions several grand seigneurs and courtiers 
of the R.di Soldi who preferred to spend the long win- 
ter evenings in their kitchen, than in any other apart- 
ment of their sumptuous dwellings. Even in antiquitv 
the pleasures of the table were regarded as an all-impor- 
tant function. Let us cast a passing glance on Lucullus, 
that prince of gourmets, who died forty-six years before 
the beginning of the Christian era, and also on Apicius, 
whom a celebrated French author designates as tt & 
messie de la gourmandise." Culinary art was then 
carried to the height of a science, and in the excavations 
of Pompeii were discovered proofs of such refinement 
in this •direction that we must stand reproved thereby I 
in our comparative indifference to the quality of what A 
we eat and drink. I will quote the menu of a supper] 
given bv Paratus in the year 7 c a. d. at Pompeii, — a' 
menu which was found in the ruins of his princely 
villa : — 

First Course. 

Roasted Sea Urchins. 

Fresh Oysters in the Shell. 

Thorny Oysters boiled with Red Peppers. 

Ortolans on Toasted Unleavened Bread. 



/;-;---.""J 






Capons smothered in Asparagus. 



Ovsters and Mi 



with Wine Sauce. 



Peacocks' Tongues stewed in Green Grapeitdce. 






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PLEASURES OF THE TABLE 197 



Second Course. 

Scollops stewed in Quail Consomme- 
Mussels fried with Olives. 
Sea-Nettle Salad. 
Roasted Figpeckers. 
Venison and Wild Boar in Cutlets. 
Figpeckers stewed in Vesuvian Wine. 

Roasted Asparagus. 
Stuffed Murene Eels and Red Mullets. 

Third Course. 

Boar's Head garnished with Limes. 

Lamb's Breast stuffed with Figs. 

Roast Wild Ducklings with Orange Sauce. 

Roast Hare filled with Raspberries. 

Fillets of Phrygian Grain-Pullets. 

Wheat Cream flavored with Thyme. 

Vesuvian Wine Cakes. 

Crystallized Grapes. 

Peaches cooled in Wine. 

Watermelons and Figs. 

Crushed Plums and Apricots in Syrup. 

Devilled Field-lark Livers. 

Rose Waffles. 

Fresh Dates. 



This lavishness leaves far behind it our most gor- 
Igeous Agapes ; and if one takes into consideration the 



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GL 



extreme luxury of the Pompeian banqueting halls where 
such feasts took place, one is forced to recognize that 
we are but very poor creatures indeed as compared with 
the ancients. 

One thing especially should be taken into considera- 
tion, and that is the importance which the way of serv- 
ing up even the plainest of dishes has on our appreciation 
thereof. All that delicate porcelain, translucent crystals, 
and handsome plate can do to etherealize a meal, should 
be done by the careful mistress of a house. The viands 
should be prepared and dished so prettily that were 
fairies present they could not but feel tempted to brea 
into them, and, above all, the dining-room should just 
so far as possible be conducive to perfect ease and 
mental as well as physical repose. As I remarked 
before, it should not be beneath the consideration of 
the haughtiest of mondaines to supervise in person the 
culinary department of her home, and to insist that 
every kitchen implement shall be kept scrupulously 
I clean. This is very easily done if those employed in 
the kitchen could only realize that their labor would be 
greatly simplified if they would wash their saucepans 
las soon as they have been used, instead of waiting — as 
►most of them do — until the grease, sugar, or sauce has 
cooled off and it takes wellnigh Herculean efforts to 
xleanse them. Mc^s t people ^wh en they g ive 2^_dinne 



PLEASURES OF THE TAB 



199 



consider it necessary to incur expense, even often when 
they can ill afford it, in order to convince their guests that 
money is of no consideration at all to them ; and this 
is the reason why at almost every dinner-party to which 
one is invited, one meets with the same tasteless, highly 
decorated, and pompously named dishes which savor of \ 
the restaurant whence they have been ordered, and 
which are so insipid that they give one the impression 
of having all been cooked in the same pot. It is far 
better to place on your table a few carefully selected, 
home-made, and well-prepared dishes, instead of all this, 
flashy luxury which is in no case ever worth its cost. 1 
In order to be able to give a good dinner at compara- 
tively small expense, it is therefore absolutely necessary 
that the mistress of the house should be acquainted 
with the price of all eatables and table dainties, and 
that she should make a point, if possible, of going her- 
self to market for such occasions, with a view of 
selecting the best she can obtain for her money. I 
will now give two menus which may serve as models,' 
one for a ceremonious dinner, and one for a simpler 
occasion. 



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220 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



Number One. 

Pains Moscovites. 

Bisque Soup. Green Turtle Soup. 

Brook Trout with Tartar Sauce. 

York Ham stewed in Sherry. 

Cutlets of Venison, Sauce Soubise. 

Sweetbreads in Wine Jelly. 

Broiied Truffles. 

Ducklings with Asparagus Tips. 

Truffled Pheasants sturTei with Foie-Gras. 

Venetian Salad of Flapped Vegetables. 

Macedoine of Fresh Fruit with Maraschino. 

Pistachio and Russian Violet Ices 

served in tiny scooped-out blocks of ice). 

Wines. — Chablis. Chateau Yquem. Ola Madeira. 

Chateau Montrose Red. Mouton Rothschild. 

Sparkling Moselle. Cyprus Wine. 

Bonbons. Cirfee. Liqueurs. 



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Number Two. 

Little Neck Ciarr.s. 

Cream of Asparagus Soup. 

Lobster a la Pompadour. 

Cold Salmon Trout with Green Mayonnaise Sauce. 

Truffled Fillet of Lamb. 

Roast Quails with Endive Salad. 

Asparagus. 

Czarina Cream. 

Fruit. Bonbons. Coffee. 

Wines. — White Claret. Red Claret. Sherry. Burgundv. 

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PLEASURES OF THE TABLE 201 

As I have mentioned several dishes which are not 
familiarly known, I furnish the recipes : — 

Pains Moscovites. — Take some thin slices of slightly stale 
brown bread. Butter them with an equal quantity of well- 
mixed anchovy paste and butter, and garnish with alternate 
stripes of caviar, finely chopped hard-boiled egg and parsley, 
and delicately sliced, narrow fillets of preserved anchovy. 
Serve on small plates with a couple of slices of lemon and two 
or three olives. 

Russian Violet Ices. — Prepare an ordinary water-ice, in 
which throw three handfuls of carefully picked, large, odorous, 
and freshly gathered Russian violets, a small glass of maras- 
chino; freeze as usual. 

Macedoine of Fresh Fruit. — Slice thinly three Seville 
oranges from which the rind has been removed. Place them 
at the bottom of a plain china mould. Scatter over them a 
layer of grapes carefully detached from the stem, stoned, and 
separately wiped with a soft, dry towel. Then comes a 
couple of handfuls of large strawberries intermingled with 
fresh almonds, cut in small shreds, tiny square pieces of pine- 
apple, similar pieces of peaches. Over these place another 
layer of grapes closed in with slices of orange. Dissolve a 
half ounce of pure gelatine in a pint of water. When ready 
for use, add thereto a tumblerful of syrup of sugar, two wine- 
glassfuls of champagne, a liquor-glass of anisette, and two soup- 
spoonfuls of kummel. Pour this fragrant mixture over the 
fruit so that it fills every crevice, and place the mould — tightly 




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3^202 




covered — in a pail of crushed ice and salt. Leave it thus for 
three hours, or until it has thoroughly congealed. When 
[about to serve, plunge the mould for a second in boiling water. 
.Turn it over on a cut-glass dish, surround this transparent and 
ippetizing structure with a garland of fresh flowers, and send it 
lp quickly to table. 

Czarina Cream. — Whip a quart of thick, sweet cream 
until very frothy and light. Add thereto a spoonful of 
)range=blossom water and a cup of finely powdered sugar, 
[ave in readiness a basket of silver filigree, or, failing this, a 
;prettily plated ordinary reed-basket. Put a layer of candied 
■ose-leaves and sugared violets at the bottom of the basket and 
[heap the cream over it. Decorate the top with a shower ofl 
candied rose-leaves, violets, and orange petals, and surround the 
.pyramid with a circle of pistachios, fresh almonds, and can- 
died strawberries. Serve, sending in at the same time a dish 
I of rose macaroons. 





I will now say a few words about table decoration. 
In Paris at the present moment the great chic consists 
in decorating the table almost exclusively with fruit, in- 
stead of loading it, as in days gone by, with banks of j 
fruit and flowers. At a recent embassy dinner on the 
banks of the Seine the festive board aroused the sincere 
dmiration of those present by the extreme originality 
nd elegance with which it was arrayed. The cloth of 
antique Venetian point was spread over vieux-rose gla$e 




PL 



203, 



silk, which shone softly through the rich meshes of the 
costly fabric ; in the middle of the table was a low 
square basket of wonderfully chased silver-work, filled 
with masses of blossoming apple branches whereto aj 
number of tiny lady apples had been fastened. Similarj 
baskets, but smaller in size, were disposed at all four! 
corners, and were, so to speak, bound to one another 
by long chains and clusters of white and red currants, 
starting from the middle basket and meandering over 
the tablecloth, to which they were fastened here and, 
there by windmill bows of pale-pink metre ribbon. This] 
thoroughly novel idea can be varied indefinitely accord-l 
ing to the taste of the hostess. For instance, violets \ 
might be substituted for apple blossoms, and purple and] 
white grapes for currants, with equally happy result ; or,) 
again, a centrepiece of orange-flowers and buds inter- 
mingled with diminutive tangerines, would certainly bej 
a pleasant diversion from the everlasting parterre of 
roses or chrysanthemums to which we have all been 
treated at dinner-parties the world over since time) 
immemorial. 

A new decoration for the table has just been intro- 
duced in Vienna. It consists of a set of silver snakes 
with jewelled eyes, which seem to glide among the] 
flowers, some of them rearing their vicious, triangular! 
little heads in the air, others lazily coiled between the 





tinv fronds of the maiden-hair ferns so largely used 
now in table decoration. 

Polish, Russian, and Austrian ladies are excellent 
housewives, and even the richest among them devote 
much attention and time to the embellishment of their 
familv hearths. Pa^ir.i ■■■■:■: :: wealth are beginning to 
adopt Polish fashions in this particular, but I only men- 
tion this style for the delectation of my readers, and in 
an anecdotal way ; for it can only be indulged in by 
millionaires. The table must be square and of some 
costly inlaid wood, the corners being visible, as the 
cloth is spread diamond-shape. T his cloth is made of 
bright-hued brocade studded at the comas with gems, 
such as turquoises, amethvsts, or topazes. In the mid- 
dle stands a ponderous silver or gold epergm composed 
of three tiers of travs, the lower one bearing some fine 
fruit, the second, a mass of elegant bonbons, and the 
upper supporting a wide :_: in which are placed a 
wealth of cut flowers. Divers little cups are scattered 
about holding flowers, fruit, and bonbons. No lamps 
are used for the illumination of this table, but tall silver 
candelabra alternate with huge sflvei wine-jugs resting 
on silver Days* In lieu of glasses, gold or 5 re- 
mounted Venetian mugs are placed before each guest, 
her with highly ornate salt-cellars, whilst the 



PLEASURES OF THE TABLE 205] 



confess that the coup d'ceil, although very gorgeous,' 
is by no means absolutely pleasing to the eye, an 
that, in my opinion, a lighter, if a far cheaper, decoration 
is much more tasteful. However, while on the subject 
of outlandish dinner-services, I may mention a veryi 
attractive one rendered fashionable by the present' 
Dowager Empress of Russia. In this instance, the 
plates and dishes are of Tolsk pottery ; not decorated 
with flat painting, as our finest dinner-sets generally! 
are, but adorned with figures and designs executed in 
colored relief, resembling in a cruder way the Bernard 
de Palissy genre. The wines are served in superb 
ewers of niello silver, enriched with raised ornaments 
and the spoons, knives, forks, salt-cellars, etc., are o 
black and white Tula silverware. The tumblers and 
wineglasses are of that peculiar opaque glass generally) 
known as Schmelz, — that is to say, a mixture of shot 
sea-green and purple, — and the liqueur sets are of thic 
diamond-cut crystal. For these dinners, flowers ar 
not arranged in the ordinary way, but a low jardiniere. 
of labrador (a Russian stone of a soft gray tint with a 
irradiating blue and gray tint) occupies the centre of thej 
table. In this are planted Russian violets, leaves, blos- 
soms, buds, and roots, intermingled with an odd, feathery 
species of dwarf reed which grows on the steppes of the 
Ukraine, but which can be replaced by pampas-grass. 







(206 



EVE'S GLO 



In Paris, which in all matters of fashion is pre- 
-eminent, the great fad of the moment is to give what 
ire called exotic dinners. The dining-room is deco- 
rated on such occasions in strictly Spanish, Russian, 
[ndian, Moorish, or Japanese style down to the minutest 
(detail, and at the dinner nothing but national dishes 
complementary to the decoration are served. Some 
time ago a beautiful French fashion-leader who has 
»pent two years in Japan, invited her friends to a 
^genuine Japanese dinner of which the menu was as 
follows : — 

Banana soup, slices of octopus, or devil-fish, feelers. Roasted I 
porcupine. Oranges preserved in ginger syrup, boiled pomegran- 
(ates, candied lizards' tails, etc. 



The daintiest morsel of the feast, which is to the 

* Japanese what oysters are to us, was a magnificent fish 

■ of the turbot species. It was served on a large dish of 1 

priceless Kioto porcelain garnished with a wreath of 

{variegated bamboo leaves. It was still alive, for its 

gills and its mouth moved regularly. To the horror] 

of the guests, the butler raised the skin from the upper 

'part of the fish, which had been previously loosened, 

land picked off slice after slice of the creature, which, 

although alive, had been carved in such a fashion that 

no vital nart- had been touched. The heart, gills, liver, 



PLEASURES OF THE TABLE 207, 



and stomach had been left intact, and some damp sea- 
weed on which the fish rested sufficed to keep the 
lungs in action. The miserable thing seemed to look 
with a lustrous but most reproachful eye upon thei 
guests while they partook of its body, the transparent! 
flesh of which they were forced to admit was delicious.' 
It should be added that this particular fish, the Dai, 
is only good when eaten alive. The moment it dies, 
its flesh becomes opaque, tough, and starchy, and this 
individual one had been brought all the way from Japan 
in a glass tank for the occasion. 

Of course, all these fantaisies and ruinous decorations! 
do not commend themselves to people in moderate 
circumstances ; and for the latter I should advise the! 
following very tasteful table-centre, which can be made 1 
at very small cost by any clever feminine hand. The 
table-scarf is made of coffee-colored silk canvas embroid- 
ered in soft hues of pale-pink, azure, lemon, and Persian 
lilac floss-silks, the design being one of these thoroughly 
original and pretty cross-stitch patterns which one sees! 
in Russian or Armenian embroidery. Around the edge 
is a thick, fringed-out ruche of pale-pink surah finished 
off" at each corner by a windmill bow of moire ribbon 
in the colors of the embroidery. In the middle andi 
at both ends of this scarf are placed ordinary but dain-l 
tilvshaped rush-baskets. throughtji£ interstices of wiuch 



208 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



some correspondingly colored narrow moire ribbons 
have been drawn. The largest of these three baskets 
should contain either ferns or seasonable cut flowers, 
whilst in the two others candies or tiny cakes can be 
disposed. For every day occasions, the best and most 
practical table-scarf will always be the white linen one 
embroidered in washable cottons or silks, and bearing at 
each end the monogram of the master and mistress of 
the house. A small earthenware or metal fernery will 
last throughout the winter if properly watered at night, 
and will give even to the humblest table a thoroughly 
distingue and recherche appearance. 

Let me add that sherbets served in the middle of 
dinner, as well as Roman punches, have entirely gone 
out of fashion, and that champagne is not admitted any 
longer to the table of really smart people, excepting in 
the case of wedding breakfasts, christening dinners, 
or ball suppers. It is, moreover, quite permissible dur- 
ing the heat of summer, whether in town or country, 
to invite one's friends and acquaintances to partake of 
an entirely cold dinner, including iced consommes, fish 
en mayonnaise, salads, cold fillet of beef, frapped vege- 
tables, and iced entrees, capped by the ordinary finish of 
ices and fruit. A pretty idea for such a dinner is to 
place on the centre of the table a square or round 
mirror tray whereon reposes a large irregularly shaped 



PLEASURES OF THE TABLE 209 

block of ice scooped out in the middle and containing 
some trailing branches of blossoming ivy-geraniums, or 
some plant of the convolvulus species, which drape this 
novel flower-vase and are allowed to run down to the 
tablecloth in rich profusion. The trays destined to 
support these ice-blocks are provided with a small 
aperture in the middle of their slightly concave surface, 
by which the water of the melting ice is received into 
a flat basin placed under the tray, so that the tablecloth 
runs no danger of being wet. 



14 




210 



EVE*S GLOSSARY 




CHAPTER XIII 



SERVANTS 





in ~\ T 7 HILE on the subject of household arrangements 
w V I must not omit to touch upon one of the 
most important questions that a careful and elegantly in 
clined housekeeper should always haye in mind ; namelvJ/^H? 
that of seryants. The question of servants is eve 
day becoming more vexatious throughout the United 
States, and many a conscientious housekeeper ofte 
feels ready to abandon her post and fly to some hote 
or even boarding-house, in order to avoid the continua 
friction and conflict entailed bv her " help," as thes 
domestic tyrants are sometimes called. You do not 
however, sufficiently realize that there are faults on 
both sides ; for masters and servants have both changed,, 
and you must adapt yourselves to modern conditions. 
In the end the social relation of master and servant 
must depend, in the working, upon the character of, 
individual master and servant, never forgetting that 
French proverb which truthfully savs, ki Tel rr.aUre, tel 



"Loi 



loi 








SERVANTS 



21 Ii 



saying ; and why should not fair treatment beget fair 
treatment too ? 

In wealthy establishments, where a staff of servants 
is kept, matters generally go well because there arej 
fixed rules by which the entire household works, and 
which the upper servants as well as their more humble^ 
comrades are bound to obey, if they are anxious to keep 
a situation where they enjoy good wages and good fare. 
In small m'enages it is altogether a different affair, for 
the maid-of-all-work — who is the only servant that 
such establishments can afford to keep — is invariablyj 
either a perfect Tartar, ruling master, mistress, and chil- 
dren with a rod of iron, or else a " slavey " in the full 
acceptation of the word, in which case I say, God help, 
her ! Taken when utterly inexperienced because she 
cannot demand high wages, and beguiled by the prom- 
ise of being trained so as to enable her to rise in her 
vocation, the poor girl leads a life like that of a slave, 
working for hours and in amount a great deal more 
than ever ought to be her share. Beginning service in 
a small house where there is no method or manage- 
ment, she contracts the slipshod habits of her entourage ; 
and instead of ever improving she drags on a miserable 
existence on about $8 to $10 a month. She seldom 
has a kind word said to her. She is expected to be 
cl ea n, tidy, metjioiiicai^and civil wjieu ev enzion e 



tissssasges 



212 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



her is the reverse ; and when the day comes that, broken 
down in health by overwork, another " slavey " takes 
her place, she is shipped off to the workhouse. Who 
then can be surprised at the feeling of animosity that 
too often exists in a marked degree between employers 
and employed, and which may, perhaps, be accounted 
for by the fact that for numberless generations might 
has governed right in this instance. In Europe one 
still finds some old family retainers who have at heart 
their masters' interests, who share their joys and sor- 
rows, and who take pride in the thrift of the house they 
belong to. But here in America this is very seldom 
to be met with, and your domestics are far more like 
serpents, ever ready to bite the hand that feeds them, 
than like humbler members of one family, who look 
upon their employer as a child does on his father, with 
affection and respect. Most certainly half the friction 
which exists at present would be smoothed away if 
those who have the control of a household showed a 
feeling of sympathy, and sometimes administered judi- 
cious praise, and also if you endeavored to make your 
servants realize that you are, in a measure, grateful to 
them for the services they render you. To be sure, you 
pay them for the performance of their duty ; but still 
you can hardly expect that in return for a few dollars a 
month you are entitled to their respect, affection, hon- 



SERVANTS 



2I 3 



esty, and constant toil without adding thereto the cour- 
teous and considerate treatment which every kind heart 
should dictate towards inferiors. Servants are in your 
sight nothing but a necessary evil, whose numerous 
failings must be endured because you cannot do other- 
wise ; but you never stop to recollect that you could 
easily make this painful situation of affairs far easier 
?oth for master and servant by, so to speak, oiling the 
orks of the household. 

" We may live without friends, 
And may live without books ; 
But civilized man cannot 
Live without cooks. 

11 We may live without love — 
What is passion but pining 5 
But where is the man 

Who can live without dining ? " 



Therefore it would be far better if you did not 
ilways keep in mind that the wages you pay your 
| u help " are all that you owe them ; for you owe some- 
thing more than wages to those upon whom the com- 
fort of your home depends, and a few encouraging 
rords by the way, and a little assistance given occa- 
sionally, will bring about in the servant a feeling of 
"espect for his master or mistress ; while unreasonable 




214 





demands, too much restriction, and the use of stern 
tones instead of quiet ones will soon destroy all kindly 
feeling. 

It is of course very difficult for me to lay down fixed 
rules here with regard to the management of the ser- 
vants' hall, so much depends on how many domestics 
are kept, and also on the amount of money which theWi 
mistress of the house has at her disposal. In large 
European establishments the distinction between upper vixW 
and under servants is very rigidly enforced. The head 
of the whole household is the butler or steward, with 
the housekeeper as coadjutor. The whole responsibil 
ity of the care of the house rests with the housekeeper, 1 
but the butler has to look after all the menservant 
and see that they fulfil their duties, while the maid 
should only receive orders or complaints from th 
housekeeper. The kevs of the rooms during th 
absence of the family are in the housekeeper's charge, 
and orders are always sent to her for the preparation of 
the house before the arrival of the family. The house- 
keeper's, or steward's room, is for the use of the uppe 
servants only ; and if any guest brings a valet he takes 
his place in this room, unless wearing livery, when he^ 
would go to the servants' hall. When there is a 
housekeeper, no lady of the house personally finds fault 
with an under-servant. All such remarks eo__throu 






215 



this head-servant, and uphold her authority. Orders, 
too, pass through her hands, except to the lady's maid 
as a personal attendant, or the head-nurse, who is 
supreme in her own department. If there be a man 
cook, he is not under the butler's orders, except in, 
matters of household routine and behavior. A man or 
woman cook comes to the lady of the house with the 
menu and to receive orders, and any remarks as to fail- 
ings in the culinary department are made to the cbef\ 
except in the few establishments where the house 
steward and housekeeper are the only ones who take 
orders personally from the master or mistress. Men- 1 
servants, in or out of livery, have distinct work in the 
establishment. The butler overlooks the whole work,, 
and has charge of the cellar and plate. If an under-* 
butler be kept, it is his special duty to clean the plate. 
A groom-of-the-chambers, in a large establishment, is 
responsible for the right arrangement of the sitting- 
rooms, so far as seeing that the flowers are properly 
arranged, that the writing-tables in each room are thor- 
oughly furnished with stationery, and it is also his duty 
to be in attendance in the morning. At breakfast, the 
butler and two footmen wait, as, of course, fewer ser- 
vants are required than at dinner. Coachmen orj 
grooms are very seldom made to assist in waiting, but 
on the occasion of a large dinner or evening partyit is 




2l6 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



a very common thing to make the family coachman 
stand at the entrance door in order to usher in the 
guests, and at such times the grooms can don footmen's 
liveries to help in the dining-room and hall. The but- 
ler is not expected to answer the drawing-room bells 
in the morning ; that is the footman's duty or the 
groom-of-the-chambers', but after luncheon he is always 
in attendance to announce visitors. The stablemen 
are usually under a distinct rule of their own. In most 
houses they never come into the house for any meals, 
having their own rooms and separate hall and kitchen 
in the building devoted to the horses, and the stud 
groom or coachman takes orders only from the master 
or mistress of the house. 

The housekeeper has the charge of all china, house- 
linen, and everything connected with the furnishing of 
rooms, and it is her duty to see that everything necessary 
to comfort is in the rooms ; but she does not look after 
the writing materials in any sitting-room, which is one 
of the special duties of the groom-of-the-chambers or 
butler. The housekeeper, the butler, and the lady's 
maid are the only servants who are expected to have 
a book of small expenditure ; and a good mistress, 
however large the establishment, always looks carefully 
over such accounts before passing them to the steward 
or agent for payment, or paying them herself. In small 



SERVANTS 



217 



households rules must vary according to circumstances, 
but in all cases where there are distinctly upper and 
under servants they are strong in their observance of 
the etiquette laid down. 

I do not wish to include governesses and tutors in 
my remarks about servants, yet as I cannot write a 
separate chapter concerning their position and their 
rights, I will devote a few words to them here. There 
an be no doubt that men and women of a compara- 
tively high social standing are forced by adverse cir- 
cumstances to accept menial positions, and that it is 
exceedingly difficult to know how to 'treat them, for, 
eing neither fish nor flesh, their standing in the house- 
old is very difficult to define. How can one avoid 
in such cases the shoals upon which an employer who 
is at all unmindful of the past of such subordinates 
is bound at times to strike ? A mother seeking for a 
suitable person to place in this responsible position will 
naturally choose one whose qualifications include more 
than the ordinary educated teacher, and will strive to 
make his or her life happy. First, then, the school-room 
should not be the dark back apartment so often chosen 
for that purpose. It should be bright and well furnished, 
like any other sitting-room, with the additions necessary 
for work and study. A happy family gathering at the 
breakfast-table makes a pleasant start for parents and 



/■*_*• 



21 



E V E ? S G L as 5 A RY 



-. .. 



~;u? 



. ^ 



rhildren, but of course the hour must not be too late 
)r irrer-^ar. If possible, one maid should be engaged 
r.:;:e> as sch^cl-room maid, her duties clearly denned 
is to waiting on the governess, who often suffers more 
rom the inattention and rudeness of the servants than 
>eople know. If neither the children nor the governess 
ippear at the late dinner, it is incumbent on the mistress 
lof the house to see that supper is properly served in the 
>l-room ; probably the children may not require a 
and have gone to bed, or else have gone in E 
essert, that very old-established custom. Nothing is 
more depressing than a solitary meal served carelessly. 

I need not say that in the case of a tutor, especially 
wren, as frequently happens in Cath:.:: hcases, he is a 
priest, he invariably takes dinner with the family; but 
the governess, excepting when she is an elderly lady 
is not supposed to be present at meals, her dinner and| 
lunch being served in the school-room. Moreover, if 
the school-room is bright and cheerful, and if parents 
dren show her that true courtesv and poUtesse du 
■e invariably the sign of gentle birth, her' 
i happy one. 
In the households of the middle classes, one of the 
[greatest difficulties with servants is their lack of seif- 
►1, and their liability to "go off at half-cock,'* as 

r.e o nrp ;s:r of a_CVn-npr wVin>p mpmV-c 



'*\C« 



% 



re. 



£^- 



cew 



yrS 



c\ 



*oc-; 



V\ 



Cy^C" 



-■"*r-*C, 



'A* 



V 



M 



219, 



were always resigning because of some temporary 
friction. A servant is annoyed because a mistress 
'insists upon some particular thing being done which 
the servant thinks foolish or unfitting. Thereupon the 
servant, in a fit of temper, gives warning, and takes 
herself off, because " she ain't a-going to put up with' 
such nonsense." An educated person, though annoyed, 
would argue : " Why should I bother ? After all, it's 
not my house, but Mrs. So-and-so's ; and if she likes 
to have things done in a particular way, that's her, 
'affair ! As long as she does not ask me to do more] 
than I agreed to do, I shall do what she says! " No| 
lone ever hears of the clerks employed by a great 
commercial firm giving warning because " the part-] 
ners " have issued a particular order. In a household,) 
however, a servant entirely repudiates the idea of 
obeying as obedience is understood in an office. This; 
melancholy state of affairs could readily be remedied by 
the employment of a little tact on our part. 

Although my own opinions, I am not ashamed tol 
confess it, are exceedingly aristocratic, and on some 
points even somewhat autocratic, yet I have always felt 
deep sympathy and pity for servants in general, sin- 
cerely regretting the misguided ways of many employers] 
towards their employes, and vice versa. The respective! 
duties of mistress and servant are justice and obedience; 



c^:n*>>^ 



22: 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




but often the obedience is expected — and exacted — 
k\ v \ without the corresponding justice being; given, and in 
3 ruling; a household a mistress must remember that there 
iy/f should be firmness, patience, prudence, benevolence, \\ 
f/f/jf and self-possession — especially benevolence. Eor 
ages and ages the lot of servants has been a sad 
lone. In olden times domestic servants were merely 
slaves, and could be bought and sold, or even killed, 
at the will oi the mistress; and frequently instances 
^are given bv old writers of their having been imprisoned 
•in iron fetters and scourged to death for the most trivial 
offences. Besides this, in those davs, the rather humil- 
iating name given to domestics in Anglo-Saxon was 
" hlaf-cetan," or loaf-eater, which proves that even 
1 I /then their food was more or less begrudged to them. 
During the Middle Ages the lot of house servants 
had considerably improved ; thev were, comparatively 
speaking, well fed, but at all periods the sleeping ac- 
commodation left much to be desired. It was cus- 
tomarv for them to sleep on bags of straw laid on the 
benches and tables of the great hall; and even so late 
as the reign of Elizabeth in England they lav on pallets 
of straw covered bv a sheet, with a good round log 
instead of a pillow. An old chronicler savs : " As for 
y I'j sen-ants, if thev had any sheet above them it was well, 
for seldom had thev anv under their bodies to keep them 



11 



■yj 



I 



SERVANTS 



221 



from the pricking straws that ran through the canvas 
of the pallet, and raised their hardened hides." These 
improvements did not, seemingly, ameliorate the rela- 
tions between master and servant, for, if other chroni- 
clers of the day are to be believed, life was not always 
easy in homes of that period. There still exists a very 
satirical song, written during the reign of King Edward 
I., which by no means idealizes the grooms of that 
epoch. 

" Whil God was on erthe 
And wondrede wyde, 
What was the resoun 
Why He nolde ryde ? ' ' 

" For He nolde no groome 
To go by His side, 
Ne grucching of no gedelying 
To chaule ne to chyde." 




(While God was on earth and wandered wide, what 
was the reason He would not ride ? Because He wouldj 
have no groom to go by His side, nor the grudging 
(grumbling) of any gadling to jaw or to chide.) 

Is not this tableau very amusing, and do we notf 
ourselves at the present day often hesitate to do many 
things we should like to do, for fear of being grumbled 
at, or at least frowned at, by these charming specimens 



222 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



W) 






:: servants which our own and our forefathers' remiss- 
ness have created for our delectation : In France, 
during the reigns of Louis XIV., Louis XV., and L ;uis 
'XVI. , the habits of the upper classes became exceed- 
glv cultivated and refined, with the result that a 
similar change took place in those of the domestic 
servants. It became no uncommon occurrence for 
CTJthese ideal servitors to cast in their lot with, and 
remain faithful to, one family for the greater pan of 
a lifetime, tending and watching over the different 
members thereof, with a devotion often wanting in 
those connected by the most sacred ties of blood and 
kinship. In return thev received, when old age had 
incapacitated them from further labor, the reverence 
and love that thev had given with an unstinting hand. 
This proves that what I have said above is perfectlv 
correet, anc that i; a g:cci master makes a reed servant J! 
in nine case? cut c: ten, I well know that one dees not 

|tc be the reward of ou: best errorts in that line, :":: it 
has haccenec tc mvself in several instances. But vet 
one mav trv, and the game is in this special case quite 
worthy of the candle. 

In the English village or 
happened :: visit the little ch 





Hornsev travellers who 
rch, all overgrown with 



ivy 



?vs; 



pic: 



SERVXNTS 



22 3i 



amid a litter of mossy gravestones imbedded in flowery 
grass, will have noticed a tablet whereon is graven : 

To the memory of 

Mary Parsons, the diligent, 

faithful and affectionate servant 

in a family during a period of 57 years. 

She died on the 22nd of November, 1806, aged 85. 

Also to the memory of Elizabeth Decher, the friend 

and companion of the above, who, after an 

exemplary service of 47 years in 

the same family, died on the 

Second of February, 1809, 

aged 75. 

Their remains, by their mutual request, were 
buried in the same grave. 

Such proofs of the — alas ! — long-departed fidelity' 
of old-fashioned servants should surely encourage us to 
try to train ours to become equally devoted to us. 

A charming French grande dame, who belongs to the! 
purest Faubourg St. Germain, but who by no means dis- 
dains personally to look into every little detail of her 
household, has laid down a programme defining the duties 
of each of her servants, a copy of which is nailed to thej 
door of their respective rooms. She exacts from all' 
implicit obedien££*_but is extremeliLkind and cons 



224 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



ate towards them. She told me once, when I had been 
praising the excellent management of which her entire 
establishment gives abundant proof : " I never permit my 
servants to use coarse or indecent language, or to insult 
one another, while in the servants' hall. If such 
conduct is reported to you, you should be unmerciful 
in your reproof, for it is in this way that they lose 
their self-respect and, consequently, that which they 
owe you as their mistress. Moreover, you must give 
good wages, for, as it is nowadays — with very few 
exceptions — motives of interest that bind our servants 
to us, we should make it worth their while to accom- 
plish their duties well." 

It is advisable to associate one's servants in any 
family rejoicing, — weddings, births, birthdays, etc., 
being made the occasion of giving them a present o 
greater or less value, according to your means. In so 
doing you will make them feel as if your house 
was their home, and will reap the benefit of this pleas- 
ant illusion. There can exist no happiness, and cer- 
tainly no peace, in a household where servants are not 
thoroughly disciplined, or where their masters' interests 
are not made to become their own. Therefore, al- 
though this chapter may seem hardly to fit into a 
manual of How to be Beautiful, yet having in the 
beginning pointed out to my fair readers the enor- 



SERVANT 



225 



mous influence which a quiet and happy life has upon 
their looks, it will become readily understood that I 
should make a point of explaining all the means of 
obtaining it. 

Much space has been devoted both in the foreign and 
in the American press to the discussion of this servant 
question, which plays so important a role in our lives. 
But no results can be achieved by these disjointed and 
disconnected dissertations in the public press ; and I fear 
that nothing I can say in the matter will be of much 
use to my readers, especially in a country where the 
domestic class is recruited from the people of every 
nation under the sun. Having kept house in almost 
every country of Europe, in the Orient, and also, for 
the matter of that, in America, I can without undue 
modesty consider myself an authority on the subject. 
I may add that I have found the management of ser- 
vants equally difficult wherever I have been, although by 
following the principles which I have endeavored to 
describe in this chapter, I have invariably succeeded in 
gaining their confidence and obtaining their devotion, 
even if their service was not such as a stricter mistress 
would insist upon. Without a doubt, excepting in the 
case of a few old family retainers who have been in my 
mother's house since long before my birth, I have found 
that the colored race, both in the United States and in 




GL 



the Orient, are far ahead of white servants. BerberinsJ 
who are considered as being the best servants in Egypt, 
have a great deal to be said in their favor. To begin 
>with, they are exceedingly dignified and graceful im 
[appearance, and move about with a noiseless tread 
'which is in itself a great qualification in the eyes of' 
persons whose feelings have been tortured by the pon- 
derous footsteps and creaking boots of the German 
\Johann or the English 'Jeames ! As a rule, they are 
very anxious to please, and capable of devotion and 
[attachment to their masters, but they lack that exacti- 
tude and precision in the performance of their duties! 
which constitute so invariable a characteristic of the 
.English flunky. An Oriental servant will bring youj 
( a glass of water, a footstool, a fan, or a cigarette with- 
out your ever having to ask for them. He will arrange 
(the flowers in your dressing-room and boudoir withi 
consummate taste and innate artistic conception of 
fcolor ; but he is utterly unable to comprehend that you 
|want your clothes laid out for use at a certain fixed 
hour, that your meals are to be served exactly on time, 
or that the lamps must be lighted as soon as darkness 
[sets in. On the other hand, he is far more deferential 
ind courteous than any other domestic. He never 
iddresses you otherwise than with bowed head, and he 
[prefaces hisevery remark with a profound as piratio n in 




SER 



TS 



22 7i 



token of respect. Of course there are many Euro- 
peans, and Americans as well, who affect to be shocked 
by such self-abasement on the part of a fellow-creature. 
Permit me to say that this is a mistake, for Orientals: 
invariably misconstrue the kindly meant consideration 
of foreign masters, and soon become completely demor-' 
alized and unbearable when emancipated from mani- 
festations of deference and respect. English servants 
had formerly the reputation of being the best in the 
world. But this was in the days of bygone genera- 
tions ; for now there is no longer any of the old blind, 
trust shown by the servants in their masters. Instances 
of servants with tears in their eyes bringing up their 
modest savings to avert the ruin of a kind master belong 
now almost to legendary times, and are regarded as 
mere myths by the employers of the present day. I 
must nevertheless confess that, as far as the performance 
of the actual duties is concerned, British servants are 
among the very best. This is mainly due to the excel- 
lent training that they receive, and partly also to the care- 
ful gradations of class distinction. In England, France, 
Russia, Austria, or Germany, the servant never dreams 
|of considering himself the equal of his master ; that is to 
say, when in the service of a born and bred gentleman 
or lady ; but, notwithstanding this, he retains a very pro- 
nounced feelinp- of self-respect, aiKLp refers _to abandon 



228 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



even the most select of situations rather than perform 
some act of service which he rightly or wrongly con- 
siders as being outside his regular duties, and therefore 
derogatory to his rank as butler, valet, coachman, or 
footman, as the case may be. This also applies to 
female domestics. French servants of both sexes, 
particularly those of the present time, are with few 
exceptions rather objectionable. Indeed, it is a very 
difficult thing to find a good servant in France, barring 
a lady's maid or a nurse, who, being endowed with the 
chic inherent to the nationality, is invaluable to a woman 
of fashion. A great objection to French servants is 
their loquacity, which is of the torrential kind. They 
will talk to their masters, they will talk to their fellow- 
servants, they will keep up a running fire of small talk 
with their employer's dog, nay, they will even converse 
with themselves by the hour sooner than remain silent. 
But in spite of this they do their work well, and a good 
deal of it too, far more than could be got out of Eng- 
lish or American servants. Of course, there are excep- 
tions, especially among the older generation of servitors, 
who resemble their British confreres in their exaggerated 
notions as to respectability and propriety. An amusing 
illustration of this was afforded on one occasion when 
Monseigneur F., at the time Archbishop of Tours, 
attended one of my mother's weekly receptions at Paris 



SERVANTS 



229 



some years ago. The handsome old prelate had been 
a dashing captain of cuirassiers in the days of his youth, 
and had only entered the church on the death of his 
wife, who had left him with two little boys. The latter, 
now grown up and officers in the army, accompanied 
their father on the occasion of his call. The gray-haired 
igroom-of-the-chambers, on asking the Right Reverend 
gentleman whom he was to have the honor of announc- 
ing, started as if he had been shot on receiving the 
reply, "The Archbishop of Tours and his two sons. ,, 
" 'Jamais, jamais ! Never will I be guilty of such dis- 
respect to Madame la Comtesse ! " exclaimed the worthy 
domestic, in tones of choking indignation j and he van- 
ished, leaving the prelate and his two sons to make 
their way into the salons unannounced. It was only 
[subsequently that we were able to explain to the ex- 
cellent man that the Archbishop's boys had been born 
in lawful wedlock previous to his entering holy orders, 
and that the fact of his being accompanied by them 
should not be taken as evidence that he had violated 
his priestly oath of celibacy. 

The only domestics that are worth their salt in Ger- 
many are the military servants of the officers, and also 
those who have been reared on their master's estates. 
Servants of this kind may be expected to perform their 
duties conscientiously and punctually, but without the 



slightest intelligence. Russian servants, according t( 
my experience, are either such knaves or such foolsl 
that it is difficult to make a choice between the tw< 
evils ; and I am sorry to say, moreover, that they an 
all more or less, both male and female, addicted toj 
drink. The most striking proof of their unadaptabil- 
ity to domestic service is afforded by the fact that 
nearly all the body-servants of the Czar, the imperial 
family, and great Russian nobles are foreigners. Aus- 1 
trian servants are excellent. Their deference smacks 
more of the Asiatic than of the more civilized west-j 
erner, and they are in the habit of kissing your ham 
night and morning in sign of their subserviency. The! 
only distinction which is made in that country, when 
the Hand-kuss is a national institution, is that, whereas 
ladies give their right hand to be kissed by servants,] 
tradespeople, and inferiors in general, they reserve th< 
left hand, which is always the daintier and the more 1 
idle of the two, as well as the one nearer the heart, for 
their equals. As for Spanish and Italian servants, theyj 
certainly occupy the lowest place on my list, for they an 
revoltingly deficient in the simplest principles of clean- 1 
liness. To begin with, they have an atrocious likingj 
for garlic and other kinds of food of a highly accen-' 
tuated flavor, the bouquet of which is likely to prove a j 
trifle too oowerfuLfociheir emnlnvers. I have alwaj 



SERV 



TS 



2 3 J i 



thoroughly sympathized with the American lady of my 
acquaintance who, although she had conferred her hand, 
and, needless to add, her fortune, on an Italian of rank, 
told me at a dinner-party when I first met her about her 
trials in the domestic line. " But, my dear madame,"! 
I ventured to remark, " why do you not follow the' 
example of most of the members of the diplomatic 
corps and employ Italians, whom your husband could 
easily procure for you ? " " Gracious, no ! " she ex- 
claimed in horror, utterly oblivious of the presence of* 
her noble husband across the table, " do you imagine! 
for an instant that I would ever consent to have one' 
of those nasty, dirty Italians about my house?" 



232 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



£«& 



I 



CHAPTER XIV 



'U 



^ 



u 



ETIQUETTE FOR YOUNG AND OLD 

ETIQUETTE " is a word which usually frightens 
most people, for they imagine that it is a code 
of hard and fast rules as strict and immutable as those 
of the Medes and Persians, and created for the sole 
purpose of annoving them and hedging their life with 
uncomfortable and embarrassing restrictions. To all 
those who have seen a great deal of the world, however, 
the word " etiquette " has an entirely different mean- 
ins:, and thev are onlv too glad to be told by competent 
persons what is right or wrong, not only with regard 
to good manners, but also as far as the recognized rules 
of societv are concerned ; to receive such hints as may 
prove profitable, and to know just when and where to 
apply the knowledge thus imparted to its best advan- 
tage. Literallv translated, the French word " etiquette " 
means the art of correctly observing and performing 
all larse and small ceremonies connected with refined 
and civilized life. But I mav add that etiquette also 
comprises our daily intercourse with our fellow-crea- 



v 



-\ 






ETIQUETTE 



2 33 



tures, our manners in general, and also the way in 
which we bring up our children, treat our husbands or 
wives, act towards our servants, and, in one word, un- 
derstand the difficult task of smoothing out the angles 
of existence and of making life as pleasant as possible 
both for ourselves and those around us. In days gone 
by, courtesy was so inherent to all classes of society 
that " manuals of etiquette " were hardly needed. Our 
ancestors and ancestresses knew exactly the right mo- 
ment to bow or to courtesy, and the precise amount of 
attention which was expected by one person from an- 
other, any breach of such matters of form being quite 
the exception and not at all the rule, as is unfortunately 
the case in our degenerate time. 

A great many people, even among those belonging 
to the smart set, receive notes and cards of invitation 
which require an immediate answer, and are often very 
careless of this very important little piece of etiquette. 
" R. S. V. P." is much disregarded, so much so in- 
deed that English hostesses have had to adopt the 
much more peremptory postscript, "An answer is 
requested." 

When about to give a ball, hostesses should never 
omit to add, in the left lower corner of the invitation- 
card, one of the two above-mentioned requests. It is 
also well to state on the card the exact hour at which 



234 



GL 



XTT 



the dancing commences. In cases when the ball is not' 
given at the residence of the hostess, but, as is now quite 
fashionable where large parties are concerned, at some 
hotel or first-class restaurant, this fact should also be* 
stated, and the request made that an answer be sent 
to the residential address, and not to the place where i 
the ball is to be given. It is necessary to be very 1 
systematic in sending out invitations for any large 
party, or else the most distressing and hopeless of con- 
fusions ensues. A list of one's acquaintances and< 
friends should be first drawn up and the guests selected. 
Then, when the answers arrive, " accepted " or " re- 
fused " should be marked opposite each name. Very 1 
fashionable people never confide such invitations to the! 
post, but send them by a liveried footman j but this isl 
a matter of detail. These remarks apply also to wed- 
dings, christenings, or funerals. 

For a dinner-party cards of invitation are sent only 1 
on official occasions, or when the number of guests 
exceeds twelve, otherwise it is considered better form, 
for the mistress of the house to write the invitations inj 
her own hand. It must not be forgotten that, espe- 
cially during the season, it is necessary to give plenty of j 
[notice to those whom you invite, a week being the 
minimum, and three weeks the maximum, of the time 
which ought to be accorded. When v erbal i nvita tioi 






2 35i 



have been given, even to intimate friends, a card or 
note, as a reminder, must nevertheless follow, else the 
day and hour may easily be forgotten. Dinner invita- 
tions should be answered by return of mail, or at any 
rate during the next twenty-four hours. Invitations t 
very small parties, luncheons, or afternoon teas, may b 
worded much more informally, especially when in the 
country. It is always better, however, to specify the 
time at which you expect your guests, and in the case 
of country-house invitations, the general rule is to 
specify the day of arrival and the length of time fori 
which the recipient is to be your guest. Invitation 
received which meet with no recognition by attendance, 
excuse sent, or an after call, should never be repeated ; 
for any one ignoring such civility is not fit to figure on' 
a visiting list. 

There have been of late so many accessions to thei 
already large number of marriages between American 
girls and foreign diplomats and noblemen, that it may 
prove agreeable to many of my youthful readers t 
ascertain, with an eye to eventualities, what court cere- 
monies involve. First of all, it will be well to give a 
sketch of the royal English court of St. James, which 
differs but slightly from other European courts. Every 
body knows that levees are for gentlemen, and drawing 
rooms for ladies. Some of the exist ing rules goyernin 



236 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




these receptions are of very ancient date, while many- 
others have been set aside and fresh regulations estab- 
lished. There is, in the Herald's College in London, 
a manuscript written in George the Second's reign 
which states that a married woman cannot be presented 
at the English court bv an unmarried one, nor indeed 
can anv unmarried woman make a presentation to the 
sovereign unless she possesses the loftiest rank and is 
of advanced age. The Queen's hand is kissed by all 
who are presented, and Her Majesty salutes with a kiss 
those of high rank, from a duchess to an earl's daugh- 
ter, with whom this special honor ends. When anv 
ladv, married or single, desires to attend a drawing-room, 
she must secure the presence of a friend who will in 
person introduce her to the Queen. Any married lady 
who has herself been formerlv presented can do this • 
but, bv the latest regulations, no ladv can attend court 
more than once a vear, excepting the wives of Cabinet 
ministers, of foreign ambassadors, of great nobles or 
high court officials, who bv virtue of their position are 
expected to attend even* drawing-room. It goes with- 
out saving that the ladv who presents another is morally 
responsible for the debutante, and is held accountable if 
she should chaperon an unsuitable person. The lady 
making the presentation must either call at the Lord 
Chamberlain's office, giving the name of her protegee or 





friend, and answer any question with regard to the social 
position and antecedents of the latter, or a letter may also 
be sent to the same effect to the Lord Chamberlain, 
and in the course of a day or two the necessary cards of 
presentation will be received. These must be filled in 
with the name of the chaperone and of the debutante^ and 
must be carefully retained until the day of the drawing- V 
room, when the sponsor takes them in her hand to the 
palace. 

An invitation to a royal ball, concert, or garden-party, 
given at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, is sent, 
out by the Lord Chamberlain, who is instructed by the 
Queen to invite the guests ; and such an invitation 
being a command, no reply is ever sent unless sickness 
or death prevents one from obeying, in which case a 
letter is sent to the Lord Chamberlain, expressing the 
regret that the person invited was prevented by illness, 
absence, or deep mourning, from attending. The in- J 
vitations to the garden-parties of Marlborough House 
are sent out by the Prince of Wales' Controller of the 
household, and are also almost impossible to refuse. 

The Austrian and Russian courts are far more ex- 
clusive than that of England ; and it is much more 
difficult to be presented to Emperor Francis Joseph 
and Empress Elizabeth, or to the Czar and Czarina, 
than to Queen Victoria. Americans, however, are 




2 3 8 



EV 





rather privileged ; for if their ambassador is ready to 
vouch for their respectabilitv, with few exceptions they 
experience no difficulty in being admitted to the court. 

It is more difficult yet to obtain a private audience 
[with the Emperor of Austria, or with the Czar; and the 
fact of having obtained one constitutes a privilege 
which is looked upon by European societv almost 
Jin the light of having become the recipient of lettres 
\de noblesse. The authoritv which the Emperor of 
Austria wields is enormous. His way of speaking with 
|those who seek an audience with him, his apparent 
interest in the most trivial details concerning those wh 
are favored by an interview, are characteristic, and\V 
make these visits periods of unalloved pleasure, even* \[ 
visitor coming awav happy at having spoken with the 
^Emperor, and feeling that His Majesty is quite as much 
interested in his particular affairs, whatever they may 
be, as he himself is. 

The court drawing-rooms at Vienna are very grand 
[functions indeed, and far more brilliant than those 
which take place at anv other court in the universe. 
The aspect of the hall of ceremonies when the impe- 
rial cortege makes its entrance is absolutely fairv-like. 
|Arraved in superb uniforms and exquisite dresses, the 
| very pink of the Austro-Hungarian aristocracy are 
present, only those whncan s howjthe pr oper numb er 






2 39i 



nobiliary quarterings, untarnished by any bourgeois or 
plebeian strain, being invited. Any mesalliance on the 
part of an ancestor, even when it occurred a couple of 
centuries back, is considered as sufficient there to ren- 
der a woman, no matter how high her rank and her 
title, unworthy to be received at the etiquette-bound 
court of Vienna. The diplomatic corps appears in full 
uniform, with the exception of the American envoy, 
who is the only man present allowed to wear ordinary 
evening attire. The magnificent hall is brilliantly 
flighted and gorgeously decorated with groups of palms i 
and exotics. Posted in the adjoining salons are the' 
Hungarian bodyguards of the Emperor, wearing the 
crimson, silver-embroidered uniforms, high yellow boots, 
and scarlet kalpaks with a snowy heron's plume, which 
give them so mediaeval an appearance ; the Reiter- 
Garde-Escadron, in dark green coats, gold epaulettes, 
white leather breeches, and long patent leather boots, 
with silver helmets on their heads, and the splendidly 
apparelled guard of archers. 

The Grand Master of the Court walks in back- 
wards, preceding the imperial procession, and striking 
the floor repeatedly with his ivory wand to announce 
the sovereign's approach, whilst the band, every mem-i 
ber of which wears the red court uniform and sword,! 
pla ys the National An them. The procession ente rs 



240 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



in the following order. First, the Empress, or her 
representative, with the highest personage visiting the 
court at the time ; then the Emperor, leading the most 
prominent imperial or royal lady present ; then the 
members of the imperial family in rank determined 
by precedence. The Emperor and Empress, as soon 
as they enter the hall of ceremonies, part, — the former 
striding up to where the men are ranged, the Empress 
advancing to where the ladies have taken up their posi- 
tion. To almost each of the men the Emperor ad- 
dresses a friendly remark ; some he honors with a grasp 
of the hand, while others, unknown to him, are pre- 
sented by their respective sponsors. The Empress, or 
her representative in her absence, proceeds in similar 
fashion with the ladies. By the time they have reached 
the end of the long room, Their Majesties change 
sides, the Empress passing up along the rows of men, 
while the Emperor strolls up the opposite side, graced 
by the fair sex. When they once more reach the 
throne-room, which opens into the hall of ceremonies, 
the Empress generally takes her place either on the 
dais, or on a sofa, and sends her master of ceremonies 
to summon to her side the various ambassadresses, 
with each of whom she converses in turn, and each 
of whom is permitted to present to her notice those of 
her countrywomen who are making their debut at the 



MMtt 



ETIQUETTE 



241 



Austrian court. The general rule which governs the 
issue of invitations to a Ball-bei-Hof, — a far more 
exclusive function than the ordinary Hof-Ball, — to 
a state concert, or to a court dinner, are the same 
which regulate all the courts of Europe ; namely, these 
" cards of command " are only sent to people who 
have previously been introduced at court. It is true 
that by no means all those who have been presented 
are invited to these functions ; but what I mean is that 
it is necessary to be first presented in order to become 
the recipient of such invitations. Moreover, many 
people who are naturally qualified to receive such 
commands are not sent any, in some cases men or 
women of rank being excluded by the fact that they 
have married wives or husbands whose past has ren- 
dered them ineligible for what is called " private 
court appearance." 

I think I have said enough about court etiquette, for 
those whose intention it is to be presented at court will 
be able to find out from their sponsors all the minor 
details of such a function. I will therefore return to 
every-day social life by saying a few words on the sub- 
ject of the now so fashionable five o'clock tea. Most 
mondaines have adopted the custom of being at home to 
their friends and acquaintances every afternoon between 
five and seven, and to give at least once or twice during 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



the season what is called a musical^ or literary tea, in which' 
case special invitations are sent out. The wearing of 
any other than an afternoon dress and bonnet, or hat,j 
is not permissible on such occasions. The mistress oi 
[the house usually wears an elegant tea-gown and gloves 
of some light or white, untanned kid. For informal 1 
receptions of this kind, the servants are not in the 1 
[room; and it is the hostess, assisted by some young I 
friends or members of the family, who serve the tea 
and its accompanying dainties. On a side-table, cov-i 
>ered with a richly embroidered or colored silk cloth, the 
tea-equipage is disposed. Five o'clock tea being usu- 
ally indulged in only by wealthy society people, this 
service is generally very luxurious. The acme oi 
chic is to possess a Russian samovar^ in which the! 
I water for the tea is kept in constant ebullition. The 
'cups and plates should be of finest and rarest porcelain, 
the napkins and doyleys, of white silk or edged with 
precious lace and embroidery; whilst the spoons, tea- 
Ipot, cream-jug, bonbon-tongs, and fruit-scissors should i 
be both artistic and valuable in make and metal. Teal 
is merely an excuse for making a dainty little repast; 
land the table is loaded with sandwiches, pains au foie~ { 
\ras, fruit, cakes, bonbons, warm chocolate, and even 
Ichampagne-cup or claret-bishop for those preferring 

'sr>mefhi np--mo re iflWr) t rJtmg/k an ^p " ennf-Viinrr hprl 



2 43j 



At musical or literary teas, the service is performed by 
footmen in full livery, and in some instances even tiny 
tables are brought by them into the room and placed 
before each party of two or three guests, — a very] 
practical idea, for it is always exceedingly embarrassing 
to know how to hold gracefully a cup and a plate on| 
one's lap. The five o'clock tea invariably takes place 
in the largest drawing-room, excepting when one is the 
lucky possessor of a winter-garden. In Paris, for in- 
stance, the drawing-room is no longer the feature of j 
one's home, for whether the latter be a luxurious man-j 
sion or only a modest apartment, fashion requires that| 
it should include a winter-garden, even if it be merely 
a little bit of a one. For those fortunate enough toj 
possess a large rent-roll, this costly whim is of course! 
easily gratified, but the triumph of ingenuity is achieved 
by attaining a satisfactory result at a comparatively I 
trifling expense. The following description of a lovely 
little flowery nook which a Parisian lady managed to 
create in her apartments, which are situated on the! 
second floor of a corner house on the Boulevard Haus- 
mann, may inspire my readers, if they wish, to do like- 
wise. 

A moderate-sized room with two large southern-, 
exposed windows was fitted with two deep zinc-lined I 
boxes fastened to the walls on three sides of the room. 



244 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



In these boxes azaleas, camellias, dwarf-palms, and 
rhododendrons were planted, the earth being concealed 
under a mass of moss and ground-ivy. A little tin 
gutter, cunningly hidden beneath drooping ferns, carries 
away the surplus water, when the plants are moistened, 
to the main drain. The walls are painted a delicate 
green and are covered with trellis-work of gilded wood, 
whereon vines, ivy, and Chinese hibiscus and passion- 
flowers are trained to climb. On the floor is a fine 
Japanese matting, and hanging-baskets containing nas- 
turtiums, asclepias, and other gracefully drooping plants, 
hang from the ceiling. The window embrasures are 
filled out by broad jardinieres transformed into ferneries, 
the delicate fronds of the " lady-ferns," " Venus-hair 
ferns," and " lygodium-palmatum " overshadowing a 
bamboo sofa placed immediately beneath them. In 
front of this sofa, a dainty five o'clock tea-table stands 
permanently, surrounded by rocking-chairs and piles 
of cushions, and in a corner is a vernis-Martin desk, at 
which the mistress of the house sits in the morning to 
transact her correspondence. This is without doubt 
the prettiest and most poetical boudoir and five o'clock 
tea-room which a young and pretty woman can own ; 
and, all things considered, the amount spent for the 
arrangement of this fragrant retreat, including plants 
and ferns, is not nearly as large as that which would 



ETIQUETTE 



245 



have to be expended on what is commonly called by 
upholsterers w a satin and plush boudoir set." 

I may as well mention that it has absolutely gone out 
of fashion for women to kiss one another before a 
drawing-room full of people, and that it is exceedingly 
bad form to do so. Public caresses are vulgar and 
disrespectful, and really refined women restrict them- 
selves to a more Or less aerial shake of the hand. 
This new edict saves much straining of the collar and 
corsets, and, alas ! in many cases also the possible oblit- 
eration of artificial beauty from the lip and cheek. 
Another advantage thereof is the fact that it simplifies 
the art of salutation, which is a far more difficult ques- 
tion than appears at first thought, and is well worthy of 
more serious attention than it generally receives. How 
j many women are there, for instance, who do not feel 
embarrassed when they receive from their tradesmen, 
servants, or social inferiors of any kind, arrayed in 
Sunday clothes, the same conventional recognition that 
they receive from their social equals ? Some women 
pass straight on, affecting to ignore the bow ; others, 
again, return it in a constrained manner; while only a 
few — and this is the perfection of good breeding — 
acknowledge the greeting in a perfectly natural and 
tactful manner in which condescension is leavened by 
geniality and kindliness. Men are even more embar- 



246 



EV 



GL 



Y 



rassed than women with regard to the method o 
acknowledging the salute of inferiors ; and there are 
any number of them who are in a quandary as to the 
correct thing to do when they happen to accidentally 1 
meet their female domestics in the streets. Some time 
ago there was a long controversy on the subject in the 
English papers. This, to my mind, was preposterous 
and altogether unnecessary, for in the countries where 
western civilization prevails, and where our religious 
and political creeds teach us that we are all equal in, 
the sight of the Divinity, as well as in the eyes of the 
law, a superior never errs by showing politeness an 
courtesy to an inferior. Every honest woman, be she 1 
duchess or chambermaid, the wife of a millionaire o; 
the daughter of a street-sweeper, is entitled to a bow 
that is, the baring of the head — from a man. It is a' 
well-known historical fact that the great King Loui 
Quatorze took his hat off to his children's nurse. In 
the same way, every honest man, whether prince or 
peasant, clubman or pedler, is entitled to receive! 
from women a bow or inclination of the head inl 
acknowledgment of his greeting. Such courtesy as 
this involves no loss of dignity or of social prestige, 
whatsoever, and renders the relation of our daily life' 
more agreeable and more unconstrained. Only in this 1 
wavis if-nrmsihlp to obta in a mo re comf ortable arrange-! 



2 47, 



merit with regard to salutations. In countries where 
there exist well-defined classes, such as in the Orient, 
in Austria or Russia, and where the members of the 
class below the highest are by no means ashamed of; 
belonging to the lower ranks, it may be possible to* 
keep up a graduated system of salutations. But in 
western countries, and especially in the United States, 
where all are supposed to be equal, and where at the 
utmost the various social gradations must be regarded 
as rather on a gentle slope than in sharply accentuated 
steps, it is impossible to keep up class distinctions im 
salutations ; and therefore the taking off of the hat be-l 
fore all women, and the inclination of the head by all 
women for all men, is the only possible salutation. It J 
cannot detract from our social prestige to accord a kindl 
and friendly greeting to people who do not enjoy our 
advantages of rank and wealth in life. To ignore them | 
is opposed to every principle and doctrine of our politi- 
cal and religious creed, and will tend, moreover, to pro- 
mote that sentiment of antagonism between the classes! 
and the masses which constitutes so great a source of 
weakness in every western nation. 

There is a far greater difference between "good 
form " and u fashion " than most people imagine, and , 
there are many who labor under the misapprehension! 
that " form " is synonymous with style. The distinc- 




K=>5«SftS^ 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



tion between them lies in the fact that whereas good 
form involves perfect and correct taste, combined with 
a complete absence of affectation and exaggeration, 
fashion and style do not. The latter are often tainted 
by vulgarity and by the loudness of their appeals to the 
attention of the public, whereas good form implies quiet 
refinement and elegance, a lack of all ostentation and 
violent contrasts, and an adaptation of fashion to one's 
needs and ideas instead of any subservience thereto. 
When good form is allied to originality, it becomes 
what the French call chic, — a subject upon which I 
propose to say a few words subsequently. Good form 
is by no means confined to dress or appearance. The 
use of the expression may be applied to every act of a 
man's existence ; for instance, the mistake into which 
some purse-proud people fall of " cutting " friends and 
acquaintances, who, although possessed of birth and 
breeding, are, by reason of their limited means, shabbily 
dressed, is not good form. Nor is the habit of abbre- 
viating words, such as u y'rs " for " yours " and " d'r " 
for " dear," else than extremely offensive. Abbrevia- 
tions leave it to be inferred that the writer does not 
regard the person whom he is addressing as worthy of the 
trouble involved by writing out the word in full. To 
really well-bred people, good form is almost a religion, 
whereas fashion is of comparatively small importance. 




ETIQUETTE 



249 



It is well to remember that to be " fashionable " indi- 
cates that you are merely one of the crowd of men or 
women who, without any ideas of their own concerning 
taste, elegance, and form, merely shape their dress, their 
appearance, and their manners on some given model, 
which may or may not be a person possessing refine- 
ment, breeding, and tone. Being one of this crowd 
constitutes an admission that you have no originality, 
that you are commonplace, and that you are prepared 
to sacrifice your comfort, your appearance, and your 
breeding to the dictates of persons whose surroundings 
are probably entirely different from your own. If you 
do want to follow fashion, do so to the verge of vulgar- 
ity if you choose, but no farther. Study your comfort, 
study your principles, your entourage, and the considera- 
tion which you owe your fellow-creatures, and only 
yield to Madame La Mode's exacting demands suffi- 
ciently to prevent your becoming conspicuous by openly 
revolting against them and by going to the other 
extreme. 

There is a subject on which people not born in 
monarchical countries often err in a very pardonable 
way, but which is, however, so open to ridicule that I 
consider it my duty to point it out to them : it is the 
misapplication of heraldry. I am forced to confess that 
this defect prevails to almost as great an extent in the 







■^HSi^^ 







250 



Vk 




old world ; for in Europe, and especially in England,! 
as soon as a person of plebeian origin has succeeded in 
amassing a sufficient amount of money to enable him 
to assume a position in society, — or in what he falla-l 
ciously supposes to be society, — he immediately adopts 
armorial bearings as an outward and visible manifes-] 
tation of the fact that he now belongs to the gentry. 
Sometimes he applies to the Herald's College in Lon-| 
don, — a State department where, in return for a sum 
of $400, he is able to obtain a government grant of arms, 
in due form, which thenceforth remains the property 
of himself and of his legitimate descendants. But ij 
most cases the nouveau riche dispenses with the costly^ 
assistance of the Herald's College and coolly adopts 
whichever heraldic device strikes his fancy among those 
submitted for his approval by the stationer where he' 
purchases his note-paper, or by the tailor who builds hisl 
servants' liveries. There are, indeed, hundreds of thou-' 
sands of persons in the so-called fashionable world who 
are guilty of the unauthorized assumption of the arms of J 
gentle families. It is easy to understand the eagerness 
displayed by newly enriched people to adopt armorial 
bearings, since their use has from time immemorial been 
regarded as an indication of gentility. Still, it would 1 
be far better for women to devote their attention to the 
selection of appropriate mottoes for themselves rather! 



m 

111 





2 Sh 



than to sport on their note-paper, the panels of their 
carriages, or the handles of their forks and spoons, 
heraldic devices to which they are not entitled, and 
which are only part and parcel of their estate as rich] 
and fashionable women. There is something far morel 
feminine, more characteristic, and more personal in al 
motto than in a coat of arms. It gives a clew to the 
personality of the owner. 

In France and Austria mottoes are all the rage, and 
there is scarcely a single well-known Parisienne or 
Viennese, either of the great world, the smart world, ori 
the half-world, who has not her motto, which figures! 
to the exclusion of the ordinary armorial bearings on' 
her note-paper and on her objets de toilette. Thus, for] 
instance, the Duchesse de la Rochefoucauld-Doudeau-I 
ville, who is a daughter of the late Prince de Luynes, 
and by far the grandest lady in France, being to all] 
intents and purposes the autocrat of the Faubourg St. 
Germain society, has on her note-paper no coat of arms, 
but merely the ducal coronet, and underneath, on a| 
scroll, her motto, C'est mon plaisir (It is my pleas- 
ure). Very characteristic and significant is the motto 
adopted by the Comtesse de Paris, the mother of the 
present chief of the ancient royal house of Bourbon,] 
the Pretender to the throne of France. It is in Latin! 
and as follows. Lilia nent ataue laborant (The lilies 




ssas&tegs 



252 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



spin and toil). Lilies play an important role in the 
Bourbon coat of arms. Indeed, they constitute the 
heraldic emblem of that royal family, the altered and 
saddened condition of which is indicated by the 
Comtesse's paraphrase of the scriptural verse to the 
effect that " The lilies of the field they toil not, neither 
do they spin ! " The Comtesse de Martel, who has 
achieved such brilliant success in the literary world 
under the pseudonym of " Gyp," which has become 
synonymous for everything that is sparkling and 
bright in French literature, has selected for her motto 
the words, Et puis apres ? (Well, and what then ?). 
Madame Adam, the well-known proprietress of the 
Paris Nouvelle Revue, who has frequently appeared as a 
contributor in the pages of American magazines, has 
adopted a paraphrase of the famous motto of the noble 
family of Rohan. The latter runs Rot ne puis, Prince 
ne daigne, Rohan suis (I can't be a king, I am too 
proud to be a prince, but I am a Rohan). This 
Madame Adam has transformed into a motto of her 
own as follows : Marie ne puis, Eve ne daigne, Adam 
suis. Yvette Guilbert, the cafe chantant songstress, 
whose vogue at Paris during the last seven or eight 
years has been superior to that of any other cantatrice, 
adopted as her motto, Nulle Divette qu* Yvette (There 
is no other diva but Yvette). Sara Bernhardt's indomi- 



table character is well shown in her motto of §uand 
Meme, which may be translated as " Notwithstand- 
ing Everything." Another equally popular actress, 
Madame Rejane, uses as her motto the phrase, Je ne 
crains que ce que faime (I only fear that which I 
love). 

So pretty and characteristic are all these mottoes and 
many more of the same kind which it would take me 
too long to enumerate, that I do not see why American 
women should not adopt this attractive fad ; for, as I 
remarked before, a motto has far more meaning and; 
more raison d'etre than armorial bearings, which, when 
merely " adopted " in lieu of " granted," have no true 
significance, whereas a motto always conveys some 
indication of its bearer's character. 

In America a very widespread impression seems to 
prevail that European titles are a marketable commod- 
ity, and this is to a certain extent borne out by the 
advertisements that occasionally appear not only in the 
European, but also in the American press, offering to 
secure Spanish, Italian, or German titles for those who 
choose to pay for them. I take pleasure in stating that 
the advertisers are unworthy of any attention unless it 
be on the part of the police, as they are swindlers of 
the worst description. They squeeze all the money 
that they can out of the aspirant for nobiliary honors 





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under the pretext of preliminary expenses and registra-l 
tion, and then, when they have got all out of him that 
they can, they either present him with bogus parch- 
ments or else laugh in his face, aware that he is in nine! 
cases out of ten unwilling to incur the publicity and 
ridicule involved by any attempt on his part to prose-J 
cute them for obtaining money under false pretences.! 
Strictly speaking, there is only one country in the old 
world where nobiliary titles are openly and publicly sold 
by the government at a fixed tariff, and, strangely 
enough, it is a republic, the most ancient as well as the 
most diminutive in Europe, — namelv, that of Saj 
Marino, — and the revenue derived therefrom is devote< 
to the maintenance of the State Foundling Asylum, 
With this exception there is no civilized country in thi 
universe where nobiliary titles are an object of legal 
barter and sale, and all statements to the contrary arei 
untrue. I suppose that what has contributed more* 
than anything else to the erroneous impression that 
prevails on this subject is the fact that heavy registration] 
dues are exacted by the chancery of the sovereign wh< 
confers a title. The money thus paid, however, does^ 
not go into the private treasury of the so-called " Foun-J 
tain of Honor," but into the national exchequer. In) 
some countries the fees are heavier than in others,) 
the_rates^as_a rule b eing proportionate to the con ditio] 




ETIO 



2 55i 



I 



of the national resources. Thus, in Spain, Portugal, 
and Italy, at both the Papal and the Royal chanceries, 
registration fees are very large, amounting to about 
twenty thousand dollars in the case of a creation of a] 
duke, fifteen thousand dollars for the title of prince, 
twelve thousand dollars for that of marquis, ten thou- 
sand dollars for that of count, and three thousand dol-' 
lars for that of baron. In England, on the other hand, 
the charge levied by the government under the denomi- 
nation of registration fees for royal letters-patent arei 
two thousand dollars in the case of a duke, fifteen! 
hundred dollars for a marquis, twelve hundred dollars^ 
for an earl, one thousand dollars for a viscount, sevent 
hundred and fifty dollars for a baron, — a title carrying 
with it a seat in the House of Lords, — five hundred! 
dollars for a baronet, and only one hundred and fifty 
dollars for a knight. In Germany the dues of this 
kind are so onerous that Prince Bismarck absolutely 
declined to assume or make use of the title of Duke of; 
Lauenburg, conferred upon him by the present Em- 
peror, on the ground that he could not afford to pay the 
ten or fifteen thousand dollars demanded as govern- 
ment fees for the registration of the letters-patent 
containing the grant of that dignity. The late Em- 
peror William I. paid out of his own pocket th( 
registration fe es at t he time when the title of Erlnce 




&£$§ 



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&SS5 



« 






was conferred upon his Chancellor, and that of Count 
upon Moltke and Blumenthal. In France, of course, 
the present Republican regime confers no titles ; but as 
long as the government was of a monarchical character, 
newly created nobles were forced to pay a hear*, fee 
for the registration of the handle to their name. 
Although I maintained just now that, with the ex ; e : - 
tion of the tiny state of San Marino, there is no country 
in Europe where nobiliary titles constitute a legiti- 
mately purchasable commodity, yet I cannot deny that 
they may be obtained not alone on the continent, but 
even in Great Britain, by means of a judicious use of 
~::ev, In England several plebeian-born members 
of the Upper House of Parliament are indebted for 
their peerages to their munificent contributions in favor 
of the electoral campaign fund of their party. Another 
financial method bv which nobiliary titles may be 
obtained in England is by contributing to some charity 
or benevolent scheme in which royalty is interested. 
From this it will be seen that although titles are not, 
strictly speaking, purchasable in Europe, yet they may 
obtained through services rendered to the govern- 
ment or even to reigning families and charitable institu- 
tions. But it is worthy o: note that the old aristocracy 
throughout Europe looks upon the new nobility with a 
kind of pitying disdain which should be very galling to 



[ 



k'4 



v 










?*j 







ETIQUETTE 



257 



the latter, and that the possessors of genuine old titles 
always recognize the supremacy of ancient but untitled 
families who can trace their descent in an unbroken 
line back to the Crusaders, over the possessor of some 
high and mighty but recently conferred title. 



THE ENTERTAINMENT OF GUESTS 

One of the most objectionable and frequent mani- 
festations of bad form is to be found in the manner of 
entertaining guests who are staying in the house on 
a more or less prolonged visit. So very few persons 
possess the delicacy, tact, and intuition requisite to make 
their friends feel at home ; and so many are the dis- 
comforts of a moral and physical character which I 
have had to undergo in this connection, — that a cold 
shiver runs down my back whenever I am requested to 
make myself at home. Thus, what can be more dis- 
tressing, for instance, than the host who is so solicitous 
of our enjoyment that he cannot bear to see us doing 
nothing ? He seems to have an idea that it is a reflec- 
tion upon his hospitality, and that it is his duty to pro- 
vide us with occupation for every waking hour out of 
the twenty-four. To such a pitch have I known hosts 
to carry this mania that even when they would see me 






GL 



reclining in an easy-chair and attempting to rest after 

some labor which their forethought or ingenuity had 

imposed upon me, they would burst in with the unwel- 

icome query of " Well, and what would you like to do 

ow : " and proceed to overwhelm me with offers to 

ride, drive, row, sail, or play tennis, as the case may be, 

with a touching indifference to my exhausted condition 

nd desire for a few minutes' peace. Of course one is 

►bliged to fall in with their ceaseless yet well-meant 

suggestions ; and after a few days of this enforced life 

[of pleasures one returns home thoroughly worn-out 

mentally and physically and in serious need of medical 

treatment. The worst of it is that it is impossible to 

quarrel with such a host as I have described, either in 

is house or out of it ; for his intention is so manifestly 

ospitable and kindly, and his manner so heartv and 

ordial, that one cannot even enjoy the satisfaction of 

asking in the name of pity to be left alone just for a 

hort time. I am sure that there are many of my readers 

ho will sympathize with me as they read this and re- 

'call memories of their own experiences of an analogous 

character. There must certainly be many who have 

een led around to see stables which did not interest 

hem, scenery which did not charm them ; dragged 

"rom cellar to garret for the purpose of inspecting all 

he household arrangements; conducted over fields an 









TTE 



2 59i 



ditches to observe the condition of the crops ; called 
upon to admire the porcelains, ivories, or any other pet 
fad of the host, — every man has some hobby of this 
kind, — or else be treated to all the local gossip, in. 
which one can have no possible interest or concern. 
This reminds me of the great Austrian magnate who 
was so proud of the admirably well-preserved secret 
dungeons existing in one of his Tyrolese castles that 
on one occasion, while showing to a party of guests 
the ingenious mechanism which permitted an unsus- 
pecting enemy to be suddenly cast into the very bowels i 
of the earth, he precipitated his entire' party of friends, 
as well as himself, helter-skelter into a dark, mouldy, 
and rat-ridden subterranean chamber. From it they ( 
were extricated with the greatest trouble, bruised, bat-' 
tered, and bleeding, after having screamed themselves 
hoarse in their attempts to attract the attention of the 
servants, who, at first believing them to be ghosts, 
took to their heels and were only brought back by a 
strong-minded coachman. This man, hearing a few 
well-known and unmistakably personal imprecations 
characteristic of his master, placed himself at their head 
and boldly volunteered to discover whence the unearthly 
sounds proceeded. Hosts such as these should be 
avoided, no matter how good their heart or how excel- 
lent their household arrangements«_barring_a fe> 



260 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



curious but eminently uncomfortable trap-doors belong- 
ing to an altogether bygone age. 

Equally objectionable is the host who assures you 
that his house is " Liberty Hall," and that you are 
expected to do everything when and as you please. 
When staying at another person's house, especially 
when it is for the first time, one likes to have at least 
some little kind of direction and indication as to the 
ways and customs of the place, nor does one like to be 
left altogether to oneself. It is not pleasant, for in- 
stance, to come down to breakfast, and either to be 
forced to wait an hour for that meal or else to find it 
half finished and most of the things cold. Nor is it 
particularly agreeable to discover the people on their 
knees in the act of family prayers, such as are still the 
fashion in a great many Catholic and Protestant houses. 
The way people thus engaged look around over their 
shoulder at the person entering the room and disturbing 
their devotions is particularly disconcerting. More- 
over, hosts who describe their house as " Liberty Hall " 
are very apt to assure you, when inviting you, that they 
never dress for dinner, and that the simplest of costumes 
will be all that it is necessary for you to bring. Woe 
betide you, however, if you take him at his word, for 
you will certainly find on your arrival that host and 
hostess are in full evening dress and are entertaining 



ETIQUETTE 



their friends on a magnificent scale. I have been 
caught several times this way, and have consequently 
• made it a fixed rule never to believe people who tell 
me not to dress for dinner, even when they declare it 
on oath that they never do so themselves. I may as 
well confess that in my opinion nobody really can feel 
so comfortable in another person's house as in one's 
own, and that I therefore make a special point of never 
accepting any invitation which I can possibly refuse, 
and that I rarely invite even my most intimate friends; 
to stay in my house. This may sound very inhospi-i 
table, but I know from personal experience that more 
enemies are made during the course of one large house- 
party than one could possibly manufacture for oneself 
during years of ordinary social intercourse j for it re- 
quires considerably more than the average modicum of 
tact to be able to strike the happy medium between 
neglecting one's guests and overwhelming them with 
attentions that become irksome. On such occasions, 
the old proverb that says, " Familiarity breeds contempt," 
is doubly true. Another drawback to staying at other 
people's houses is the question of tipping the servants, 
which, in Europe, for instance, is carried to far greater 
excess than most of my readers would care to believe. 
Thus, in a country-house there is the butler to be 
attended to, and the man or maid appointed to look 




after you, if you have not brought your own valet or 
maid, likewise the chambermaid intrusted with the care 
of your room. Then there is also the coachman who 
drives you to and from the station, and at least one of< 
the grooms, if you do any riding during your stay, not to 
mention the huntsman and gamekeepers if your host] 
happens to have any shooting or hunting preserves, thei 
chef, and, last but not least, the gardener who provides 
your breast bouquets and fills the vases in your room 
with freshly cut flowers. All this constitutes a heavy ( 
drain on the purse, when one remembers that the stay 
rarely extends longer than a week, and that during th< 
course of the summer and autumn months one is ex-^ 
pected to pay a good many of this species of visit. 
Nay, so exacting has this rule of tipping become in 
Europe that whenever I dine at my mother's house inl 
Paris it costs me from five to ten dollars, which I divide! 
between the butler, the footman, and the groom-of-the- 
chambers. 

Still another drawback to country stays is the ques- 
tion of church on Sunday. If at one's own home, one| 
w T ould go to church, of course, of one's own accord ; 
|but at a friend's house one feels that religious attend- 
ance is compulsory, and this in itself is quite sufficient 
to render the matter irksome and to give rise to a 
'loneinp; to remain away from the sacred edifice alto-l 




26 



gether. In all English and American houses where I 
have stayed, the attendance at church has been a feature 
of the Sunday, and a very proper one too, if only I had 
not had that unpleasant feeling that I was under anj 
obligation to attend, and moreover that, being a Catho-| 
lie and fortunately a broad-minded one, politeness was' 
the only sentiment that impelled me to accompany my 
hosts to their place of worship. In some houses this 
church attendance is carried to excess, and I remember 
especially one country house in England where I stayed 
over Sunday, and where I was driven to one church] 
in the morning, to another for afternoon service, and' 
to a third in the evening. Not content with this, our 
host brought home with him to the house the clergy-! 
man who had conducted the evening service, and' 
toward ten o'clock our hostess, who had been unable to 
accompany us to church that evening, requested the 
parson as a particular favor to read or recite for her 
special edification the sermon which he had preached a 
few hours previously. This proved the " last straw that ' 
broke the camel's back," the camel in this instance be- 
ing myself, and I need scarcely add that I never stayed 
at that house again. I consider that this manner of 
bombarding one's guests with four sermons in one day, 
with family prayers thrown in, is not altogether good 
form, althoug h I claim to be a religious woman. 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 



My principle, when I have guests staying in my 
house, is this : I tell them what amusements I can 
place at their disposal. I offer them the use of what I 
possess in the way of horses, carriages, books, musical 
instruments, outdoor games, etc., and not unlike the 
Spaniard, I pronounce this well-known sentence, " A 
\la disposicion de Usted" — with very few restrictions. 
I grant them as much of my time as I can conveniently 
spare from my other occupations ; I see that all the 
necessities of life are placed within their reach, so to 
speak; I instruct my servants to be absolutely subser- 
vient to their every desire ; and then I wash my hands of 
the whole matter, trusting to a kindly Providence that 
all my well-meant efforts shall not miscarry and sour 
against me the spirit of those whom I harbor under my 
roof. 

THE USE OF VISITING-CARDS 

Trivial things though they may seem, visiting-cards 
play a very important role in our existence, and consti- 
tute one of the main features of our social intercourse. 
They are capable, too, of bestowing a great deal of 
pleasure, since their appearance at your door usually 
denotes that the person whose name they bear desires to 
show you courteous attention. They may be used to 
express welcome to the neighborhood, kindly congratu- 





ETIQUETTE 



lation in the case of any piece of good fortune, or sym- 
pathy in the event of sorrow. Sometimes, too, they 
announce, with the mystic " P. P. C." in the corner, 
the departure of some undesirable acquaintance hence. 
So, for one reason or the other, visiting-cards usually 
furnish us with an agreeable sensation when we survey \ 
them on the hall-table on our return home. There is 
a great deal more character in a visiting-card than most 
people would be willing at first to believe ; and from its 
shape, appearance, and from the manner in which the 
name is inscribed, the recipient is often able to deter- > 
mine the social status, the breeding, and the breed as 
well, of its owner. Thus, the slightest exaggeration of 
or departure from the strictest simplicity either as 
regards the size, texture, or lettering is distinctly bad 
form. Women's cards nowadays should be rather large, 
the name engraved in script, without any flourish or 
ornamentation, and the card perfectly plain white, inno- 
cent of any suspicion of glaze or analogous fancy-work. 
The " Miss " or " Mrs." should be prefixed to the name 
unless the bearer possesses a title. One of the most 
unpardonable pieces of rudeness, which I regret to say 
is becoming more and more frequent, is that of sending 
visiting-cards by mail. There is only one case in which 
this is admissible ; namely, when the owner of the card 
leaves a locality so suddenly that he has not had time to 



267, 



at home. This indicates that the call has been made 
personally. When, however, the call is not made in 
person and the card is left either by one's husband, 
some other relative, or by a footman, it must not be] 
cornered. One of the most amusing instances of the 
punctiliousness with which this rule is observed in] 
Europe is that of an old Spanish gentleman who went 
to pay his devotions at the shrine of a saint, but dis- 
covered that the church was undergoing repairs, that 
there was not only no priest officiating at the altar, and 
also that the miraculous statue of the saint in question] 
was surrounded by boards. Unwilling to lose credit 
for his devout intentions, he drew a visiting-card from; 
his pocket and, carefully turning down a corner, rever-J 
ently deposited it on the altar. 



MENUS, NOTE-PAPER, AND BALL 
PROGRAMMES 

The oldtime fashion of sealing letters is coming in| 
again, and everywhere may be seen wax of every con- 
ceivable hue. In place of the small and thin sticks 
once in vogue, large and solid shapes are now adopted, 
some being so heavy that they often serve as paper-] 
weights. The use of motto wafers is also being re-i 
vived ; but thisJancv is more ornamental than^Lealb 




5*C=S>3fc^ 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




useful, and the prettiest and most aristocratic way of 
closing a letter nowadays is by means of a large ruby- 
colored seal, whereon is the impression of armorial 
bearings, monogram, or motto, as the case may be. 
A very pretty innovation is to cause one's stationer to 
place a carefully made seal on the upper left corner of 
one's note-paper. This is newer and far more original, 
if not quite so classical as the embossed monogram and 
crest. At any rate, colored note-paper, excepting in 
the case of this peculiar shade of blue which is called 
" slate," and which goes so well with a silver mono- 
gram or crest, is not distinguished. The note-paper 
and envelopes should be of medium size, cream-hued, 
and of roughened surface. Nothing can be ruder than, 
when writing a letter, to indulge in what is commonly 
called " crossing the lines ; " and it is well to remem- 
ber that people afflicted with one of those illegible 
handwritings which remind one vaguely of Egyptian 
hieroglyphics would do wisely to avoid inflicting upon 
their friends too many epistles, for they are only a 
source of irritation to even the steadiest nerves. Chris- 
tening announcements, if one wants to follow the very 
\ } A latest innovation, are written thus : — 

" Pierre, or John, or May, or Margaret So-and-So has * 
the honor of announcing his arrival into this world on such- I 
and-such a dare." 




ft &//, 



'"■■i 




ETIQUETTE 



269! 



These words are engraved in silver on a pale-pink, 1 
highly glazed card in the case of girls, and on a pale-1 
blue one in that of boys, and the envelope containing 
them is sealed with white silver-flecked sealing-wax 
imprinted with a Cupid's head. 

The acme of chic for dinner-parties now consists in 
having the menus written on small oval tablets which 
look exactly like bisque porcelain, with hand-painted 
flowers. These tablets have been introduced by a cele- 
brated French parfumeur and are made of some delight- 
ful material which diffuses the most delicious perfume., 
Some are scented with violet, some -with tuberoses, 
some with lilac, etc., and the corresponding flowers are! 
painted around the menu. The question of menus, as 
well as of ball programmes, is one in which the imagi- 
nation of the hostess can give itself full scope, for 
anything is admissible in this line provided it is in 
good taste. Hand-paintings, engravings, pen-and-inkj 
sketches, water-colors and etchings, or plain white' 
parchment framed in silver or gold, frosted over or, 
decorated with monograms, crests, or devices, can be| 
adopted. But the prettiest and most refined of all is} 
always the thick Bristol board with the date of the 
dinner embossed in silver and the menu written by 
hand, the name of the guest for whom it is destined 
being also written on the back. Of course, when the 



270 



EV 



dinner takes place in the country, the name of the 
residence can also be engraved or embossed on the upper 
[left-hand corner of the card. Whilst on the subject 
[of the menu I must say a few words about the wines 
[which should be selected for a thoroughly refined 
'dinner, for one cannot but regret that so many other- 
wise excellent feasts should be completely spoilt by the 
Jcarelessness and lack of skill displayed by the mistress 
[of the house or by her butler, in the selection and 
mode of serving vintages. 



WINES, THEIR SELECTION AND SERVICE 

Ladies ought really to take a little more interest in 
ithis matter, and have the wine-list and the cellar under 
kheir studious and intelligent protection. The wine-| 
,cellar and its contents have too long been considered 
'out of their province. This is a relic of the barbar- 
jous days when any liquid trash was thought "good 
[enough to drink with dinner," and when the choice I 

flowers of the vinous bouquet were only " pushed 
(around" after the ladies had left table. The prac- ( 

tice has happily disappeared, but the tradition still sur- 1 
Ivives to spoil our dinner wine-list, to pervert our 
fpalaies, aniLto halk the leeitimaIe_asDiratiorjs^£f t] 




ETIQUETTE 



271 



accomplished hostess. Any woman who wishes to 
render her dinner-table attractive to true connoisseurs 
and gourmets ought to make a careful study of great vin- 
tages, and should know, for instance, that the wines of, 
Medoc (of the first class) are Chateau Lafite, Chateau 
Latour, Chateau Margaux. Among those of the next- 
best-known grade, are the Chateaux of Mouton, Rauzan, 
Leoville, Larose, Pichon, Brane-Cantenac, and Cos- 
d'Estournel. Among the best-known of the third 
growth are Lagrange, Langoe, Palmer, Gescour, etc., 
etc. Complete lists can be found in many books, and 
may be had of most leading wine-sellers, which will 
nable the careful hostess to ascertain what wines ought 
to be procured, and at what prices. A word now as to 
the glasses and the serving of the wine. Clarets 
should always be served in large shallow, broad glasses. 
They should not be warmed before the fire, toasted, as is 
sometimes done, until all the aroma has been driven out, 
but served at a temperature of about seventy-five degrees. 
Moreover, the best way of warming claret is to stand 
the bottle upright in a deep pan full of hot water, until 
en minutes before dinner, when it should be decanted. 
11 wines should be brought up from the cellar in the 
orning of the dinner, stood upright all day, and de- 
anted with that side uppermost which was in that 
osilion in the rellar. Wine-p;lasses cannot be— too 





272 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




ft 



thin and delicate in texture. The best claret will lose 
much of its delicacy of flavor if served in deep, thick 
glasses. The " dock-glass " of the wine-taster is the 
true model for the dinner-table. 

As to champagne, there is a tradition in America 
which requires it to be very old and dry. The taste 
for very dry champagne is a British fancy, which admits 
of some argument, and calls for a little discussion. 
Champagne is an artificial product, which differs essen- 
tially from claret, a pure and natural juice of the grape, 
the fruit being simply stripped off their stalks and thrown 
into vats where their own weight expresses this juice, 
to which nothing is added. It is not so with cham- 
pagne. Here, various grapes are blended and wines 
are mixed, candy-sugar and brandy artificially flavored 
are added at a later stage, and the wine is doctored to 
suit special markets and arbitrary tastes. To my 
mind, the demand for very dry champagne is, without 
doubt, an attempt to alter the character of sparkling 
wine, which by its very nature is sweet, the efferves- 
cence being due to fermentation of the excess of sugar. 
This wine has gone greatly out of fashion, as I have 
said before, and in Paris, London, and Vienna, cham- 
pagne is no longer considered the best form. In these 
three leading cities of Europe, I feel impelled to relate 
that it is not served at any chic dinner, but has entirely 




ETIQUETTE 



273 



fallen to the domain of the bourgeoisie ; and in America 
whiskey and water, curiously enough, is now perhaps 
the most common dinner drink of fashionable people. 
The wines especially suited to refined palates, and for 
hospitable entertainments of the higher class, are old 
Burgundies, red or white, very choice clarets, Tokay, 
and also old and mellowed Spanish wines. A good 
selection for a dinner is : Pontac de Reine (a Sauterne 
of the highest quality), La Couronne, 1878, Brayne- 
Cantenac, 1874, Leoville-Poyferre, 1875, and Chateau 
Palmer of 1880, in decanters, to be drunk with the 
table water. An excellent recipe ,for making a 
" bishop " (the best of all beverages to drink on a cold 
winter's night) may be cited : Stick a Seville orange 
all over with cloves and roast it before a slow fire, 
allowing the tops of the cloves to be slightly charred. 
Put equal quantities of cinnamon, cloves, mace, and 
allspice, well pounded, with half a pound of sugar and 
the thin rind of an orange or lemon, into a smallj 
saucepan, add half a pint of water, and let the whole 
boil until reduced one half. Empty a bottle of claret 
into a perfectly clean glazed saucepan, and place it on 
the fire till the contents simmer. Add the roasted 
orange and the prepared spice ; let the mixture stand 
on the hob for ten minutes, then pour it into a bowl, 
add sugar to taste, a little grated nutmeg, and just 





274 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




before serving, fill a tablespoon with brandy, set it! 
alight, and pour over the brew. Slips of dry toast or 
rusks should be served with it. 

For those who are fond of gastronomical curiosities' 
[and who, when giving dinners, are always anxious to 
place some novelty in their menu, I may say that 
French culinary artists have decreed that in the future 
[the chrysanthemum is to be eaten as a salad. The I 
Japanese discovered long ago that, boiled with a clove, 
chrysanthemums are very palatable ; but the leading , 
(Parisian chefs now serve them either raw, with mayon- 
naise sauce, or boil them and send them up to table inl 
the guise of a vegetable. It appears that, arranged thus, 
they are perfectly delicious ; and why should they not be I 
so ? For with the exception of a few directly poisonous 
plants, most flowers are edible. In Russia, exquisite 1 
salads are prepared of violets, and in Turkey fresh rose-j 
leaves are served as dessert with powdered sugar and 
vanilla custard. Hop buds are eaten in Belgium, and 
[thistles are not alone liked by those quadrupeds which, 
from time immemorial have been exposed to unjust deri- 
sion because their ears are ungracefully long and their 
'voices somewhat the reverse of melodious. When care-, 
[fully freed from their asperities, thistles can be cooked 
I like spinach, and are the joy of epicures. A new salad 
called jSaladfi. DuchesifiJias hfifinj-otioduced 1 



iQ 



2 75, 



late ; and it is well qualified to arouse not only the 
admirer of what looks pretty, but the delight of those 
who prize above all things an eminently palatable dish. 
The description thereof will make my readers smile, as 
it seems fitter to be placed on Titania's banquet table! 
than to be eaten by us poor mortals. To begin with,] 
it is of all the colors of the rainbow, being arranged in 
layers of multicolored chrysanthemums, intermingled 
with light and dark violets, forget-me-nots, and rose 
petals. In the centre is a mound of pale-green mayon- 
naise dotted over with tiny orange blossoms, and thej 
edge of the great crystal dish wherein this edible bou-j 
quet is disposed is lined with small white lettuce leaves, 
watercress and slices of white truffles intermingled with J 
nasturtium blossoms. This salad is the greatest triumph! 
achieved by cookery since the days when the pleasure 
of the eye began to be as carefully studied by true I 
gourmets as that of the palate. It will probably take 
us some time to get accustomed to these floral dishes. 
But where is the man to be found who at first tast< 
liked green oysters, caviar, or tabasco sauce ? 

Whilst speaking on the subject of menus, I ought to 
have said something about the much-vexed question 
of English versus French dinner menus. Sir Henry] 
Thompson condemns all attempts to use English in 
the make-up of bills of fare, for the reason t hat, th e 



M 




introduction of certain indispensable French words 
would result in a sort of mongrel patois, but the reason- 
ing is hardly logical. French is the language of cook- 
ery as Italian that of music and Latin that of medicine, 
yet no one expects our concert programmes to be 
translated bodily into Italian, or our doctors to address 
us in Latin. Let us rather regard the indispensable 
foreign words as children by adoption of our mother- 
tongue, and treat them as if our own. It would be a 
boon to many people whose knowledge of French is of 
a limited nature to have the menu written chiefly in 
English, especially when the writing is indistinct or 
when gilt lettering is used. The individual who sees 
riz de veau on his menu card and allows the dish to 
pass, not knowing that it is sweetbreads, feels intensely 
disgusted when he discovers that interesting fact too 
late. The only French words that must absolutely 
remain in use on our bills of fare are those for which 
there is no English equivalent, such as entree, puree, 
chaud froid, hors cFaeuvre, and the like. Nevertheless 
it must be confessed that a menu never sounds well in 
any language but French ; and when the present Emperor 
of Germany, actuated by an overweening access of 
patriotism, gave orders to the effect that all court menus 
should be written in German, he found to his cost that 
the plan did not work very well. This idea of his sent 




etTquette 



2 77 



all aristocratic Europe into fits of laughter, for the menu 
did look very silly when translated ; and the young 
monarch, seeing the error of his ways, repealed his 
edict, with the gratifying result that the menus of 
the Berlin court have ceased to be Europe's laughing- 
stock. 






27' 



GL 



CHAPTER XV 



TACT AND CHIC 



TACT is a word most difficult to define. The 
best of French dictionaries describes it as " deli- 
cacy, or delicacy of judgment," and that in my humble, 
opinion comes nearest to the true interpretation of 
the quality. It is one which is indispensable t< 
every-day life and the absence of which gives rise to 1 
boundless misery, while its possession may be regarded] 
as forming one of the principal ingredients of the 
happiness and welfare of humanity. Lack of tact has' 
(Served to reduce to ruin many a noble and grand i 
career, and to bring obloquy upon the most upright of 
'characters; while its presence has served to counter- 
balance serious defects, and not only to successfully 
cloak moral shortcomings, but even to render them 
tolerable, for tact implies kindness of heart, and to 
| those possessing the latter we are always inclined to 
iccord indulgence. A woman devoid of tact is like a 
[flower without perfume. She may be beautiful, grace- 
ful, highlyeducated, talented, j?ut if she lacks this e mi- 



279i 



nently feminine virtue, her moral contact is not pleas- 
ant, for she is bound to place her entourage in many an 
embarrassing situation. Tact might be likened to that 
golden key which opened every door of Haroun al 
Raschid's palace ; and it undoubtedly facilitates every! 
social relation and endears those possessed of it to all] 
who meet them. 

Napoleon III., for instance, a man whose private 
life was far from being above reproach, and whose un- 
fortunate surroundings brought disaster upon his house 
and upon his country, was the most kind-hearted, and] 
at the same time the most tactful, of men, and it was' 
not by his statesmanship nor yet by his conduct, but 
solely by his extraordinary tact, that he was able to 
conquer the strong prejudices that had been formed 
against him by Queen Victoria, by the late Czar and 
his consort, and by so many of the reigning families of I 
Europe. There are many instances that could be 
recounted in illustration of his marvellous tact, but the 
following will probably suffice. At one of the court 
balls of the Tuileries, a gallant colonel while waltzing 
lost his footing and brought himself and his partner 
to the ground almost at the feet of the Emperor. 
" Madame" remarked the latter, as he assisted the 
lady to rise, u c'est la deux'ieme fois que je vois tomber le 
colonel. La premiere fois c'etait surle champ de hatatUe 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




de Sclfirino" (It is the second time that I have seer. 
the colonel fall. The first time it was on the battle- 
field of Solferino). That was an exquisite piece of 
tact and kindlv consideration, for it was calculated to 
raise the colonel in the eyes of his fair partner, and to 
dispel the sentiments of mortification and humiliation 
which he would naturally feel on account of his awk- 
wardness. But displavs of tact such as these are not 
r.eressarily limited to speech. Sometimes the very 
avoidance of anv utterance constitutes tact. Few 
people had more cause to appreciate this than old 
Baron SchaefFer, who for so manv years represented 
Austria at Washington. The baron, it mav be re- 
membered, returned home and handed in his resigna- 
tion in consequence of a blunder which he had committed 
here by communicating a strictly confidential despatch 
intended :*:; his >wn secret information to the A men- 
can Secretary of State. This mistake for a time seri- 
ously Reeled the relations between Austria and the 
United States. Yet never a word of reproach did the 
old baron receive from Count Kalnokv, the Austrian 
Minister of Foreign Affairs. M It was all mv fault," 
Baron SchaefFer used to sav, in discussing the ma::e; 
with his friends; "but Count Kalnokv possessed far 
too exquisite a degree of tact to tell me so/ 1 Tact 








TACT AND CHIC 



281 



high breeding and lofty rank. The seaman on the 
deck of a steamer, or the porter at a railroad station, 
who discreetly turns away his face so as not to appear 
to intrude upon our grief in parting from those near and 
dear to us, or upon our joy in welcoming them again, 
displays just as much delicate tact as did either Napoleon 
III. or Count Kalnoky in the two instances quoted. 
Where could one find more courtier-like tact than in 
that H-less mayor of a small English provincial town, 
who on the occasion of royalty attending a ball at the 
Mansion House in London, having received a smiling 
warning from the Princess of Wales that her children 
were just recovering from the measles and that he must 
therefore beware in dancing the quadrille with her, 
gallantly responded with a low bow that he was not 
afraid and that he would be delighted to take anything 
from " so charming a source " ? Some of my readers 
will probably be surprised to see me include tact in the 
chapters in this little guide-book of a mondaine. My 
excuse for so doing will be found in my introductory 
remarks; namely, that to be beautiful, a woman must 
also be happy and comfortable as well as healthy, and 
a tactless person cannot be either completely happy 
or in any way comfortable. 



282 



GL 



CHIC 



There is no word in the entire French language 
hwhich has been subjected to so much misconstruction 
ls the one which figures at the head of this paragraph, 
fits use is by no means confined to the French, for it 
is current at Berlin, Vienna, and London. One finds 
|it in Webster's Dictionary, and it has even been 
idopted by Oriental people. Yet few seem to under- 
stand its true meaning. Webster tells us that it 
[stands for good form and style, which, with all due 
[reverence to so eminent an authority, is altogether i 
wrong. At Vienna and Berlin it serves to describe 
.articles of raiment, that savor rather of the grands 
^couturiers at Paris than of the native modistes ; while in 
iLondon it is not only used in the same sense, but also 
is a synonym for " smart " and " swagger." What 
chic really means is not style, form, nor fashion, so 
fcalled, but originality combined with correct taste, and 
complete absence of affectation ; therefore the use of 
fthe word should by no means be confined simply to 
dress or outward appearance. Thus, when the French 
(became aware of the circumstances in connection with 
[arshal MacMahon's resignation of the Presidency 
(in 1879, both friend and foe were unanimous in de- 
claring: that the eallant old soldier had acted with 



283 



an immense amount of chic. It was very chic in 
their opinion for him to have preferred to resign the 
chief magistracy of the republic with all its advantages 
rather than affix his signature to a measure passed by 
the legislature which injuriously affected the welfare 
and the status of his old comrades on the list oi 
generals. It was very chic, too, for him to have 
spent so much of his private fortune in maintaining the 
dignity of his office as President of the French Re- 
public that after his resignation he was forced to sell 
half of his handsome town-house, and a considerable! 
portion of his property in the provinces, in order tol 
restore the equilibrium of his finances. Both things 
were done without a word, without a murmur, modestly,) 
naturally, and without the slightest trace of affectation.! 
And if the gallant and honest old soldier spent the 
latter part of his life in somewhat straitened circum-j 
stances, he had at least the satisfaction of knowing that 
he had furnished his countrymen with a true and attrac- 
tive illustration of the real meaning of the word chic. 

One of the best living illustrations of the word 
chic is Princess Pauline Metternich. She is chic to the 
tips of her shapely fingers, in thought, speech, dress, 
manner, conduct, and appearance. She is chic because,] 
she is so original, so unaffected, and yet tasteful in 
everything she does. No person who follows a fashion 



£=>»5fcS»*= 



284 



EVE'S GLOSSARY 




servilely, or who seeks to shape his or her ways in ac- 
cordance with those of any particular example or model, 
can lay claim to being chic. For in order to possess chic, 
it is necessary to have a well-defined character of one's 
own, with qualities, ay, and defects as well, that are 
peculiarly one's own. 

Chic and tact are two qualities which come naturally 
and are difficult to acquire. I have often seen children 
possess them to a very marked degree; for they are 
more or less the result of good blood and good breed- 
ing. Whilst on the subject of children I may as well 
say a few words about the little creatures who form so 
integral a part of every true womanly heart. In my 
opinion it is by no means necessary that our offspring 
should be tortured at an early age with too much study, 
and I am confident that it is far better for them to begin 
their education late. What is of great importance, 
1 however, is to instil into them from the very cradle 
the principles of honor, loyalty, and good breeding, 
which will make them later true gentlemen and ladies. 
This sort of education cannot begin too soon, as bad 
habits when once formed are more difficult to uproot 
than the toughest of weeds in a rocky soil. They should 
be taught especially courtesy to inferiors, good table man- 
ners, and a quiet and modest demeanor. Nothing is 
more obnoxious than the pertinacious, self-possessed, 




TACT AND CHIC 



28d 



not to say impudent child, who seems one of the 
worst products of our fin-de-siecle epoch. Children are; 
now sometimes only little old people who apparently 
have been born at eighty, knowing everything, and with 
all the bloom rubbed off from their little persons. The 
old French saying of " Rien riest sacr'e pour un sappeur " 
(There is nothing sacred in the eyes of a sapper), may 
be applied with tenfold force to the modern child. /. 
They are generally devoid of any real feeling of respectlr 
and submission to their parents and elders. This lack 
of diffidence, which in America is called " cheek," is 
extremely painful to witness in babies, and young chil- 
dren ; for it is a pity to see them literally recoiling at 
nothing. They inflict their company unbidden in their 
mother's drawing-room on her reception day ; they 
crook their elbows in raising soup to their mouths ; they 
sample tea or coffee with a spoon ; they break the shell 
of their boiled egg in a most repulsive manner, or els 
turn out the entire egg in a glass or cup ; and afte 
making therewith what is commonly called " parrot- 
soup," they swallow it with a most disagreeable smackin 
of the lips. It would take me too long to enumerate 
the various shortcomings of the fin-de-siecle child, and 
also the remedies which I could think of, and I will do 
so at a future time, as it is a question which interests 
me deeply. 




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